Paper to Flesh
by Kiera Embers
Summary: The Titan's face a dangerous power, one that not even Raven can defeat. To save her family and her home Raven turns to the one being on earth whose mystical knowledge and powers surpass her own. Only problem is, he has a history of trying to eat her.
1. Prolouge: A dream

**_I have a great beta reader. Zera88 you have my eternal gratitude. On day I will but you a cup of tea...or coffee depending on what your taste is. I do not own the Titans and I consume reviews. _**

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Raven sat atop a mountain, the world around her was a dark, lifeless desert. Titan's tower was perceptible in the distance, in ruins with smoke billowing from the west wing. She turned to see a malevolent dark force expanding from the east. Her skin crawled and she tried to run but she was rooted to the ground. She turned to look behind her. Another dark force was coming from the West, it was huge, impossibly so, and it was chained to her chest. It wrapped itself around her; loose pages from a book and the smell of old parchment enveloped her. She resisted its force at first but soon accepted its presence as it surged forward against the darkness from the East and consumed it. It curled itself around her it a possessive way, agitated, like a wounded animal.

Raven gasped and bolted up in bed. Her chest heaved, naked body covered in sweat, she sighed and brought her knees to her chest. The young sorceress tried to calm down while she rested her cheek on her knees and regulated her breathing. Once her heart beat had slowed and the sense of dread in her gut had lessened she got up and looked out her window. It had been raining on and off for the past four days in Jump city. Raven ran her hand through her long dark hair and mused over her dream. She usually had nightmares of Trigon's resurrection or the loss of her humanity. This was different; another malevolent force was going to be descending upon them soon. She wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered. If she were anyone else she would have tried to convince herself it was just a nightmare. But Raven knew the difference between regular dreams and prophetic ones, and unfortunately this one fell in the latter category.


	2. Bed Bath and Beyond

**_I have a great beta reader. Zera88 you have my eternal gratitude. One day I will but you a cup of tea...or coffee depending on what your taste is. I do not own the Titans and I consume reviews. _**

**_I like dragons…sue me_**

**_I don't own the titans, never have, and wish I would._**

**_Xaphrin thank you for the feedback_**

**_Issue 1: I have a problem with character breaks when there is no dialogue in the chapter._**

**_Issue 2: ….. It's very comfortable to sleep in the nude. :3 I'll provide an explanation in this chapter but she does seem like the type who is comfortable enough with herself to not be embarrassed by it. Plus I though the imagery made her seem more vulnerable._**

**_Dot A lover- Thank you for the words of encouragement._**

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Raven managed to get some sleep that night, but over the course of the next week the same dream had her waking up in a sweat four or five times. She avoided telling her team members; honestly what could she say to them? "Guess what guys; I had a bad dream…?" They would easily dismiss it as only a dream; while she loved her family Raven knew that they had no understanding of magic or prophecies. When she woke up again from the nightmare, sleep evading her, she screamed into her pillow.  
"I know, Fire and brimstone, let me sleep!" She stood up and stretched, prophetic visions aside it was only 2 in the morning. She needed to sleep if she was going to be of any use to the team. A warm bath with incense might help relax her she mused. She was already naked and she had sweat dripping down her body from the torments of her nightmare. The young empath snatched a towel from her dresser and walked to her bathroom.

As she slipped into the warm water Raven was grateful for her new habit of sleeping in the nude. If  
she had been wearing pyjamas she would have had to wash them. She'd gotten into the practice of sleeping naked at night when the towers AC broke and Cyborg was in Steel city. It was far more comfortable than dealing with drawstrings and collars. Starfire had wholeheartedly agreed when Raven told her, the Tamaranean thought pyjamas were cute and comfy but in her society sleeping unclothed was natural. Raven washed her body with a loofa then leaned her head back to soak in the water. After twenty minutes she got up and went to bed tranquil and somnolent. The second Raven lay her head on the pillow the Tower's alarm sounded.  
"In the name of Azar, why? Why?" Raven leapt out of bed and put on her costume, she started looking for her cloak.  
"Raven come on!"

There it was on her dresser. Grabbing the cloak she teleported to the T car. While waiting for everyone else Raven secured her cloak. To tell the truth she was pretty sure she could not leave the house without it. Much like a pre-schooler with his blanket, her cloak was an item of comfort. She could walk around the tower without it, and wear civilian clothes for the teams disguised outings, but to fight without the cloak? Never! It warmed her, protected her, made her mysterious and aided her in scaring the opponents. Not to mention covering her costume which she was not yet comfortable with.

It was the same costume save one thing, a keyhole in the shape of her soul scream (the Raven) was cut directly over her cleavage. Jinx and Starfire had gotten drunk one night when she had gone to Titans East to help Aqualad with some things. She had no problem with the thigh high boots, In fact she rather liked them, but the key hole had raised eyebrows and dropped jaws when she appeared to fight. She was bustier than Starfire, that she had always known, but she didn't know what kind of affect that realization would have on the enemy. Many froze rooted in their spot and stared like they had never seen her before, Rancid and Gizmo had turned into dribbling baboons, and others had made passes at her. Red X had patted her butt, something she was used to in their fights, and thanked her for the view.

Starfire hopped into the T car yawning, "hello friend Raven." Starfire's uniform had also experienced a uniform change. Her clothing was a darker purple and her skirt was shorter, something Raven did not think feasible. She also had a key hole in the shape of a star on her shirt, it was rather cute.

"Morning"

Cyborg came down the stairs and tossed Beastboy in, he was sleep sleeping and hugging his pillow. Cyborg got in the driver's seat started the Car and drove forward. Robin, who was now going by the name Nightwing was driving his motorcycle. He had changed his costume and name to distance himself from Batman who had taken in another young boy who wanted to wear the Robin costume. Robin had gladly passed the torch and created his own alias.

"We have an unknown villain wreaking havoc on main street, initial reports are sketchy. Something about magic. Raven you know anything about this?" Robin turned to her for guidance.

Raven felt like her heart was in her throat. She's been reading up on sorcery from the east and how to defeat powerful sorcerers. Her options for something as powerful as the force in her dreams was either make a deal with a powerful demon or go to rival his, in which case she'd become said entity's minion. Her next option was to sacrifice several hundred human souls and that wasn't going to happen. The last option was the best but also one Raven lamented discovering. She could get a dragon to consume his magical energy.

"I'll see what I can do."


	3. Share Your Toys

**_I have a great beta reader. Zera88 you have my eternal gratitude. One day I will but you a cup of tea...or coffee depending on what your taste is. I do not own the Titans and I consume reviews. _**

_**I like dragons…sue me**_

_**I don't own the titans, never have, and wish I would.**_

_**Thanks for the reviews**_

_**They make me squeal in a high pitch**_

**_########_**

When they showed up Main wasn't even recognizable. The street signs and lamp posts were bent back, shop windows were shattered, cars had been blown away and a crater had formed a mere ten feet from their favourite pizza place. In the centre of the crater was an old woman, her long white hair covered her face and she was rocking back and forward. The team stood in awe for a moment. Beast boy was the first to break the silence.

"What happened?" Those two words jolted the team out of their shock. Robin shouted to Cyborg and Raven to look for injured or survivors.

"I'll question the woman"

Robin stepped into the crater and suddenly runes were visible all over the crater.

"Robin, get out of there NOW!"

Before Robin could leave the old woman stood. She was actually a young woman, somewhere in her twenties with a beautiful face. She opened her eyes to reveal pitch black eyes; the power of the demonic entity possessing her was so potent that the skin around her eyes was cracking. Runes began appearing on her body and Raven realized what she was a worshipper of the dark arts that had willingly given up her soul to a powerful demon. Usually when a soul is forfeit the Demon waited until his servant's death to collect, but in some special cases a worshiper sacrifices their body to allow the demon to cause as much harm in the physical realm as possible. The girl's mouth broke into a gleeful smile, the skin around her lips breaking until her grin was literally from one ear to the other. An inhuman laugh that was unmistakably masculine and malevolent escaped her lips.

"Come to save the day young knight. How precious. This body is tiring, but yours seems to be adequate enough to house me."Her hair fanned out like a whip and caught Starfire."Submit or the pretty one will become one of my playthings." The demon took this opportunity to pull Starfire closer and lick her face, all the while smiling at Robin.

"Let her go!"

"My toy, If your nice I'll share" Starfire used her eyes on the Demon who dropped her in surprise. While Cyborg shot a sonic blast that sent her back. Raven picked Robin up with her power and Starfire flew some distance away."Wretched mortals! I was just going to kill you, now I'll keep you alive through things the darkest corner of you mind couldn't dream of." Raven uttered a binding spell and used the nearby metal pipes to bind her both physically and magically.

"Little sorceress. Your Daddy says hi."

The disturbing grin broke out again and she shot Raven a wink. It broke out of its bonds and sent shards of metal toward the team, one came dangerously close to puncturing Robin's chest but Starfire jumped in front of him taking the hit. For a second the world stood still, Starfires mouth made a little O in surprise and Raven for some reason remembered a moment that occurred last week when she had told Starfire rather jokingly that she was too airheaded to register pain. Starfire was caught by Robin and Beastboy, before Raven could teleport them out. The demon landed on Starfire and pulled out the metal shard with a sickening sound. She stared at the rest of them and licked the shard.

"My pretty toy makes a nice appetizer…"

Before Robin could strike at her Raven enveloped the team in the safety of her magic and took them to Titan Tower.  
**_  
_**


	4. 20 Questions

I don't own the Titans, and to answer someone's question, yell malchior will be coming out of the book. I did not make a mistake when I categorized the story. So I am sorry if I'm taking too long in getting to that part in the story. Don't be mean.

I don't own the titans, DC does. I would like the show back because cartoon network is creating shit-all shows so far. The only thing watchable is TDI and Ben 10.

:D deviant art pics will be up soon! I've drawn Melvin grown, Raven and Starfire's new costume, something for my other fic Eden, started on Red X and Malchior. Not sure which version I like or want to move forward with. BTW this is only line art. I'll probably allow someone to color it since I don't have any coloring program.

BOOOOOO to being poor!

/

Raven dropped her team members in the Medical ward at Titans tower. Before any of them got their bearings she transported herself and all the salt from the tower to the roof. She sat cross legged midair and used her magic to create a perfect circle around the tower with salt. The barrier was in place and she could now heal Starfire without worrying about the demon entity entering her home. Raven sunk down into the floor to the med ward.

Robin was holding Starfire's hand while Cyborg was keeping track of her vitals and Beast boy was setting up an IV drip.

"Where did you go?" Robin demanded while clutching Star's limp hand.

"I had to make a barrier or that thing would have come in and slaughtered us. Move, now."

Robin reluctantly let go of her hand and Raven used her magic to stop the bleeding and close Starfire's wounds. Thankfully everyone kept quite while Raven worked, even Beas boy. Regrowing muscle and organ tissue was difficult and by the time Raven had patched her up she was exhausted. She used some of the magic from the gems in her belt to replenish her energy. Raven opened her eyes, she had done a nice clean job and Starfire would probably not have any scars. Once Raven was sure Starfire would make it she collapsed in a nearby chair.

"Raven?"

"Give me a moment and I'll explain exactly what that thing was."

For once Robin listened and stayed quiet, Cyborg left for a moment while Beast Boy fidgeted. When Cyborg came back with a hot cup of tea Raven patted his shoulder gratefully and drank.

"So, can you please tell what the hell was that _thing_?"

Raven sighed. This was going to be a long explanation she only hoped she had time before the possessed girl made her move.

"What you saw, that "_thing"_ as you so aptly put it, is a body possessed by a very powerful demonic entity."

"Like the Exorcist"

"Yes, only not as mild. That movie depicted what happens when a demon possesses the body that a soul still occupies. The soul fights back and the demon doesn't do as much harm because it doesn't have complete control of the body. Since the human soul still lived within the body it did not rot. That girl that we saw was probably part of a cult. She willingly sacrificed herself to the demon, her spirit abandoned her body and the demon took her place. The body has begun to fall apart with the absence of its human spirit. You saw her mouth and the cracks around her eyes, that is the demonic energy taking its toll on the body. The Demon is looking for a better host, I'm pretty sure he's set his sights on you Robin."

"What do we do to stop it?"

"Kill it, the body will disintegrate and the demonic spirit will go back to hell."

The room was silent, they had never killed. They were supposed to be the good guys.

"Technically you're not killing anyone. This is just an animated corpse, her life force is gone its only demonic energy keeping her vital organs going."

"Is this our only option?"

"I'm afraid so. Worst of all none of us are powerful enough to take her down. She has twice the amount of magical ability that I do. Plus if she wanted to she could call my demon side and get me to hurt everyone. None of our attacks will stop her because they probably won't reach her. I found a few solutions but you're not going to like any of them."

"They can't be worse than this." 

"I can call upon a more powerful demon or magical entity to destroy this demon, but the price will be it will have control over my body and after it has completed what I have asked for it, the entity will have free reign over my body. Since I'm half demon the entity could theoretically live on forever in my body and do whatever it pleases."

"Ok that is worse, what's the next option."

"Ritual sacrifice to appease this demon and send him back, or appeal to another higher demonic power to be rid of him. Judging from what I say it would take 500 virgins to make him go back."

"You're kidding"

"No. The last option is for me to find a dragon and unleash him on said possessed. Dragon consume magical energy, partly why they like attacking sorcerers so much, a Demon spirit would be a feast for a Dragon. The only one I've ever encountered that could handle this demon and manage to keep his meal down is Malchior."

"What are our other options?"

"None"

"We can't call an old priest and a young priest?" BB asked.

"Only when there is a human spirit to fight back."

"There's one problem, Malchior is evil. How do we know that once he eats the demon he won't just attack us again, how do we know if he will even eat her and not us."

"I've thought of that. I can enter a blood oath with him. He promises not to harm any innocents and I promise to let him out."

"Will it work?"

"It has to, because I can sense her coming. We need to move fast."

"Do it"


	5. A Cruel Reunion

I don't own the Titans, and to answer someone's question, yell malchior will be coming out of the book. I did not make a mistake when I categorized the story. So I am sorry if I'm taking too long in getting to that part in the story. Don't be mean.

I don't own the titans, DC does. I would like the show back because cartoon network is creating shit-all shows so far. The only thing watchable is TDI and Ben 10.

Deviant art images are up. At least the Raven images. I need to buy better inking pens. .com/

Here we go!

/*%/

Raven sat down on an empty space of floor in her room. The chest that held Malchior's book was in front of her. Her hand shook a little as she reached out towards the chest. She stopped mid-motion and took a deep breath to steady herself. After opening the chest she pulled the book out. Her finger tips caressed the cover for a moment till she stopped herself. Her hands gripped the sides of the book till her knuckles turned white. Another deep breath and she opened the book to what was once her favorite page.

"Raven?"

"Malchior" She dead panned.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

_Damn him for having such a cool British accent. _"I'm going to release you"

Her announcement was met with silence.

"Raven, although my actions a few years ago were cruel, and believe me I do regret them, that does not give you the right to be equally as cruel."

Raven kept her face blank. "This isn't a trick. I am going to release you, given that a few conditions are met. But if you don't want to be free, I guess I could go."

"Wait, I'm listening"

"I will enter a blood bond to promise to never imprison you in the book again, and you promise to not harm any innocents. You will remain in my presence so I can keep an eye on you and make sure that you don't do anything objectionable."

"Even with a blood bond I will still try to consume you."

"You'd forfeit your life for a grudge."

"I am spiteful, but not to that extent. You must remember dearest, I've been locked away unable to feed off of any magical source for millennia. Your are by far the most powerful sorceress I have ever come across. While usually I'd only planned on taking a portion of your magic when I was released my hunger took over and I ended up trying to eat not only your magic but also your flesh. My nature will drive me to consume you the moment I am released. Reason will go out the window and I will consume you."

"What if there is a larger source of magical energy?"

"Doubtful, unless you have a rune stone from the olden age."

"There is a demonically possessed body, it is soul less and I don't believe I could defeat it. If I released you and teleported me and my friends as far away as possible do you think you'd go for her instead."

"You are alright with me hurting a human?"

"It's nothing more than the soulless corpse of a worshiper. I would rather you destroy her than have her running amok. "

"….. It may work. I shall bind myself to you."

Raven drew out a small knife and drew it against her finger. She was careful to make sure that her blood did not smear he symbols that she wrote around the book. She squeezed a few more drops onto the book itself. Taking the knife Raven cut into Malchior's book which bled a bit, she used that blood to trace over the symbols that she had just drawn and smeared it on herself. She took a deep breath and began to chant in unison with Malchior. Once the ritual was complete Raven stood up and stretched.

"I'll be right back with the team, and then I'll release you."

"Don't forget you all have to leave immediately after you complete the chant for the removal of the curse. Don't stay to watch, I'll deal with the demon."

"Thank you"

"Don't thank me till that thing is gone"


	6. Pacing Yourself

I took too long for this update.

Midterms and other shtuff came up. Shtuff being a new obsessions with Fable and Sims 3 ambitions + nightlife…I have no life. Not to mention school and recent troubles at home. (I still live with my parents and honestly I can't anymore. It's a very traditional Mexican family and either I leave on their terms or I don't leave at all. But I'm suffocating and If I spend another year listening to the insults hurled at me everyday I'll lose what little sanity I have left. Sorry I'm dumping this on you guys but it feels good to vent.)

Srry

I do not own the titans.

:P :P :P

Raven teleported back to the medical wing and told her team about the plan.

"So we're leaving a hungry dragon and a crazed demon alone in the tower."

"Not in so much as outside of the tower."

"Either way we are leaving our home unguarded and in the hands of two evil and magical creatures."

"Robin I can't do any better than this now if u want to help instead of complain that great. Grab Starfire so I can teleport all of us out of here after the ritual."

Robin bit his tongue and started prepping Kori for transport.

"The tower cameras are picking up something" Cyborgs eyes bulged while he looked at his scream. HE stuttered for a moment turned and vomited in a nearby basket.

"What happened?" Robin demanded while Beast boy looked around confused.

Cyborg pressed a button on his arm and the tv in the room turned on. The demon corpse was on the television screen rowing toward the tower using a severed leg as a paddle. The boat was overflowing with body parts and intenstines. The demon corpse had even managed to cover herself in blood and guts using some intestine as a belts and necklace. The biggest horror of all was that there was a little boy amongst all the gore. His arms were wrapped around his knees and there were tear stains down his cheeks.

Beast boy paled and chose that moment to vomit on the floor while Robin stared trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Raven transported everyone to her room Starfire landed on Raven's bed while the IV while everyone else was scattered on the floor. With a flick of her hand the candles arranged themselves around Malchiors book. While she drew symbols around the book and candle Cyborg checked Kori's vitals, Beast boy turned into an armadillo and curled into a ball and Robin stared into nothingness.

"Why?"

"To draw us out" she muttered.

"How many?"

"No more than 20"

Robin tried to storm out but Raven held him down with her magic.

"If you go out there it will posses you and if you're lucky _only_ kill the kid."

"We have to do something"

"We are, I need your help with the spell. It's more useful then barging out there"

Robins head dropped into his hands.

"This is all my fault."

Raven bit her lip, she didn't have time to deal with Robins insecurities, instead she hugged him and handed him a candle.

"That is the last candle, you have to light it after you see the signal. Then put it in the circle. This has to be done as quickly as possible. I'm going to go downstairs to listen to her demands, when you see my _soul scream_ light the candle and put it in place, then get as close to my bed as possible. I need you all close together for the teleportation spell. Beastboy get Silkie, Kori will have a fit is she finds out we left him behind"

"You sure you don't need back up" Cyborg asked

"Not the kind you can give"

Raven recited the spell and the uncompleted circle started glowing.

As she walked out she called back to the team. "You know what to do"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Malchior paced in his pages, tail whipping back and forward. He heard everything, he always head everything. Being trapped in a book meant he had access to all written words and by extension see and hear everything from those books. While Raven felt safe in her belief that he was trapped in a book locked in a chest he watched her carefully. Every time her porcelain hands graced the pages of a book he watched looked through the lines into her eyes. Once or twice he thought she could sense him but that was just his imagination. In the realm of the written he could perceive bit not be perceived. He sometimes reached out to brush a loose strand of hair out of her eyes but was met with nothing but the barrier. Occasionally he'd look into a few world leaders, secrets of the countries, sordid love affairs with news casters and what not, but he always came back to her.

It was like he was dependent on knowing everything about her. And when the newspapers and gossip columns showed pictures of her practically frolicking with a young millionaire on the beach he raged and moped for days while being bombarded with pictures of them together. With a little research of his own he found out that the pathetic little whelp was actually a notorious criminal he began questioning everything that he thought he knew about Raven. She was an intelligent and powerful empathy with some telepathic ability, there was no way she did not know. And yet why, why would she risk everything to be with _**him!**_ It was maddening! Whats worst it was maddening being bothered by it.

Malchior stretched letting his claws extend. The little boy was ruining the plan, all she had to transport out was her and her friends, which was dangerous enough with her power practically drained. Now she had to get the child to safety and transport the "friends". Honestly she was too good. Malchior waited, she wasn't near any books and he could not perceive her. Malchior started to pace again.


	7. Anticipation

Ah my updates are too far and few in between.

I donot own the titans….and raven is a vulcan

Raven travelled along the long hallway entrance to Titans tower, the team had talked about how to decorate the hallway countless times, generally resulting in fights over pink curtains, trophy stands and movie posters. Personally she would have liked to hang some paintings and erect a few statues. She allowed her mind to wander while she walked along the hallway, and old coping mechanism she had developed as a child to prevent her emotions from getting the better of her. Her fear would not become an obstacle.

When she reached the door she took a deep breath and balanced built her shields up. She then flung the doors open with a wave of her hand and stormed out. She channeled her rage and indignation when she faced the demon who was attempting to use the head of a young woman as a yo-yo.

"Ah, so the little princess chooses to grace me with her presence." It tossed the head in Raven's direction who avoided it by simply tilting her head to the right.

"Tell me little one, how does it feel to be so caged amongst mortals, to hold yourself back. It must be so frustrating. Don't you want to lose yourself in your anger, lust, power. I don't know how you can stand it."

"Restrain offers clarity, the loss of said restraint offers only chaos. You're proof of this."

"Oh pooh. You're no fun. Send the little man out and the child will go unharmed."

"You and I both know that will not happen."

"So you'll have the blood of this child on you. How sad."

Before the abomination could reach for the child Raven flung a boulder at it. Crushing the demons skull and neck. While the demon reformed Raven used her magic to grab the child and bring him close. When he was in her arms Raven heard a cracking sound. The demon had regenerated. She needed time to regain her power so while she siphoned energy from her belt she distracted the demon.

"Kitty has claws. No matter, I'll just find more toys. Or I'll wait here, your shields and wards will not hold forever. Not while I'm clawing at the doors."

"You have yet to attack me"

"Politics in hell, I'd rather not face your father or your betrothed. You are off limits your friends not so much."

"Betrothed?"

"Oh, don't worry he'll be making an appearance soon enough, now….I'm going to play in the city again. When I come back You'll be more accomidating. There's even another sacrifice my church has ligned up. Honestly those fools seem obsessed with sacrificing women instead of men. Morons."

The demon strolled to the boat picked up the limb and started to push the boat off humming a tune with a smile on her face.

"Why not use your powers?"

"Oh I love the anticipation almost as much as the action"

There she had enough power to transport the team out. Raven let out her soul scream and stretched her power to envelop her friends and the boy. The last thing she saw before teleporting was a giant clawed hand break through the roof of Titans tower and the confused yet slightly amused face of the demon.

~.~

Freedom, air, the sweat smell off the sea and the sound of waves pounding against the beach. Malchior reached forward and breathed his first breath of fresh air since his last release six years ago. Then he was hit with that smell, that sweet aroma that promised not only power and life but pleasure and that sense of contentment. It promised him everything he had ever wanted and everything he never knew he wanted. As soon as he inhaled that smell he wanted it. To possess it, consume it, cherish it, revel in it. But when he took his second breath it was gone, and only the slightest trace of it remained. He roared in anger in frustration. His hunger raised and demanded satisfaction and he smelled another smell. The stench of raw power large and untamed not far from him. He turned his head and saw his first meal. Another roar and he lunged mouth agape.

…..after several months of inactivity I update…sorry for the delay. And the short chapter.


	8. A Cave of Wonders

SOOO here is another chapter. Since I have so many reviews for this I'm making this my priority in order of fics. The more you review the more I write. BLACKMAIL! :D enjoy.

Robin let out a grunt as he landed on the floor of a cave. When he got up he winced and cradled his arm. The landing had dislocated his bad shoulder. He looked around and tried to get his bearing but he was met with nothing but darkness.

"Raven?"

He heard a groan to his right and turned.

"Damn that hurt. Where the hell are we?" Cyborg asked. He turned on his shoulder light and looked around.

"It's a cave. Don't know where." Robin looked at his communicator and tried to see where they were on the gps.

"My comm. isn't picking up anything"

"My scanners are picking up some weird electromagnetic reading but my GPS is off the fritz. We'd better find everyone else."

Robin turned grabbed a light from his belt and turned around. He and Cyborg walked for a few seconds until they found Raven, Star fire, Beast boy and Silkie sleeping along the cave floor.

"Help me check them for injuries"

Cyborg nodded and started to scan his friends while Robin did a cursory physical exam.

"No broken bones or cuts"

"Scanners indicate that Star fire is stable. Raven is doing her floaty heal thing. And Beast boy probably fainted. The shock from what he's seen and Ravens transportation probably took a toll on him. He'll be ok"

"And Silkie?"

"Napping"

"Ok, wake up BB and try and get a feel for where we are. Stay within shouting distance. I'm going to look around this way."

"Robin,…. Everything is going to be alright. Raven knows what she is doing and her plan will work."

"…. I just don't know what to do with this. Magic isn't exactly my element."

"That's why we have Raven"

Robin nodded and they both went their separate ways. Robin walked around the cave floor and tried to identify the different rock patterns and formations to try and identify where they were. After a minute of walking Robin noticed a light blue glow in one of the cave passages.

"Guys over here"

Robin waited until he heard Cyborg's heavy footsteps to continue along the passage. As he walked along he noticed that the passage was large enough for Beast Boys largest form to walk through. It wasn't like a normal cave it was large and spacious. Cyborg and Beast boy caught up and looked around in awe. Along the walls off the cave where jewels and gems that glittered under their artificial light. They heard running water in the distance.

"Whoa" Beast boy murmured.

"I don't know if this is even possible. These gems looks like their naturally a part of the cave but I've never hear of diamonds, rubies and sapphires occurring naturally in the same place."

"I'm not sure this place is natural. Raven may have brought us here for some sort of magical protection in case her plan did not work. There's some sort of drain here."

Beast boy sniffed the area indicated and rubbed his nose. "That's oil. It hasn't been diluted or treated in anyway. There's a source nearby. Alright, gold, diamonds, oil and rubies all in one cave. Ravens been holding out on us"

The passage opened up to a circular chamber with a waterfall that started from the bright ceiling and emptied about two hundred storied below them to a large lake. They stood on the ledge and their mouths gaped in awe.

"I don't see a way across. Cyborg, can you tell what the light on the ceiling is made off?"

"…..Fish"

"What?"

"The ceiling is made of crystal or…... and I can't believe I'm saying this, diamond. But it's impossible to have a diamond that size. Anyway through the crystal you can make out the lights. The light is in the shape of a fish and its swimming. I'm thinking it's some strange species. "

"Beast boy fly across and see if there is a way out through the other side."

"Uh…. Guys something's coming out from the lake."

The remainder of the team turned to look down. The lake was bubbling and the water was churning.

"Something's coming! Brace yourselves"

From below Malchior burst through the bottom of the lake. The dragon swam to the lakes shore and shook off the water. Then he stretched in a catlike way settled by the shore and yawned.

"Ok we need to be quite and plan out course of attack. He can't hurt us according to Raven." Robin said pulling his squad members from the ledge.

"I would not recommend such rash action" said the dragon that was suddenly above them.

"Titans go!"

Malchior chuckled and caught each in a claw. "The terms were that I was not to harm any innocents or any of Ravens friends I can restrain you. Though in the event of an attack defending myself in permitted. But I am not an irrational being. If you agree to cease your foolish, and quite frankly pathetic attempt to harm me I will release you and allow you to roam my home."

"You tried to EAT Raven"

Malchior let out a loud sigh. "Honestly is everyone so fixated on this? Yes, I _tried_ to eat your friend! I was not in control of myself. You try going a thousand years without a meal and let's see if you don't go insane when you smell your first meal! Now I am offering a truce. I am no enemy of man or of yours. Stop struggling and I shall release you and offer my hospitality, continue this nonsense and I will gag you like swine!"

Beast boy and Cyborg became still and were released. Robin kept struggling.

"Honestly, I try to be a gentleman but your just being difficult. The demon is dead if I wanted to harm you I could not. You are merely projecting your feelings of inadequacy onto me."

"Shut up"

Malchior mumbled and placed Robin against the wall. The gems shined and encased the young man gagging him but leaving his nostrils free for air.

"Now, metal man, you seem more sensible than your friend and I hope you are open to negotiations."

"Uh…Yeah. Are you going to leave him like that?"

"For the moment. Once Raven awakens from her slumber I will have her soothe his worries and you may be released. Now take me to Raven, I assume she is exhausted from her exertions and I wish to offer her some of my power, I find myself with an excess of energy."

"You're not going to hurt her."

"The bond will not allow me. My blood would literally boil in my veins should I attempt anything."

Cyborg eyed him momentarily and let out a defeated sigh. "This way"

"How is this place even possible?"

"Dragons are capable of great magic when we are well fed and happy. Have you heard of the stories of a dragon guarding a treasure?" Malchior was met with silent stares "Yes, Raven mentioned your aversion to literature. Well suffice to say a dragon affects its surroundings, given that our homes are where we spend the most time that is where we have the highest influence. Our homes become wonders and given our territorial nature they are defended. I suspect Raven chose this place because she knows about the booby traps and protective runes."

"Is it really so safe if she managed to get in."

"I provided her with permission six years ago. The magic here recognizes her as my….. well it recognizes her." They came upon their sleeping friends. "Two sleeping princess' in my home…It's been a while"

"What?" aked Beastboy and Cyborg simultaneously.

"Towns, cities and sometimes even countries will sacrifice a princess or a beautiful girl in order to appease some angry diety or to convince me to make it rain. I'm against eating intelligent life so I would bring the girls home and care for them until they could re-enter the world."

"Why didn't you let them go back home?"

"I tried that once and I later discovered that the residents of her town had accused the girl of being a witch. They tortured and burned her alive I later took vengeance on those superstitious fools and burned the village to the ground. That was the last time I released a girl back to her town. "

Malchior tilted his massive head curiously and sniffed the two girls.

"You should change the girl's bandages."

He curled around Raven and nuzzled her briefly. "Try not to wake us. Both out healing powers work better when we sleep". Malchior lowered his head and slept while Beast boy and Cyborg watched in a mixture of confusion and awe.

/-/-/-/

Uwaaaaah! I'm tired. Hope the chapter isn't too short. I'm sort of nursing my addiction to otome games. :D


	9. Home Sweet Home

Malchior stretched and let out a yawn. He lifted a wing to check on Rave and was pleased to see that her complexion had improved and her heart beat was stronger. The massive dragon carefully shifted away from her. The young empathy continued to sleep peacefully while the dragon walked towards her friends. The alien girl had woken up and was talking cheerfully with the halfling and metal man.

"Good morning new friend Malchior"

"Good evening young one. Are you well?"

"Yes thank you. Where are we?"

"You are residing in one of my homes. We are currently in a cave under the ocean floor. The entrance is near the mouth of a volcano. I would allow you to leave but I fear you need the protection of Ravens power. The water to the entrance is too hot for you or any of your changelings to withstand and it would be wise to allow your friend to recover and magically transport you out."

Starfire tilted her head slightly while she considered his words and nodded.

"Thank you"

"If there is anything you or your friends will need please ask it of me."

"Has the demon been defeated?"

"Is Raven alright"

"She is physically fine. She is exhausted. Encoutering the demon and performing all those spells put a strain on her power and she is recuperating. I believe she will be back in full power before the end of the day."

"The creature is no more. You'll find nothing more than a smear on your East wall. I apologize for the mess."

"Where is Robin?"

"He is….detained at the moment. Your friends informed you of his ill planned attack I take it."

"We didn't want to stress her out" Cyborg answered.

"A logical choice but unnecessary."

"Can you release friend Robin?"

Malchior craned his neck slightly to the side and drummed his claws on the ground.

"If you believe you can keep him from causing too much trouble then yes. Our last encounter was not so civil."

"We'll make sure he behaves"

"I'm hungry!" Beast boy complained loudly

Malchior turned towards the halfling and studied the boy.

"There is an orchard in one of the eastern passages. You may eat from the fruit there for sustenance. I will lower the bridge for you. Follow me"

Malchior gently picked Raven up and placed her limp body on his shoulders. As he walked down the tunnel Kori assaulted his with questions about his home, favorite color, food, movie, book and most surprisingly if he was willing to be her friend.

"To answer you inqueries: my home took many centuries to build and you may go wherever you like but only when I am present. There are magical and cursed items her that you may not be able to understand. My favorite colors are silver and gold, favorite food is beef, I have yet to see a cinematic piece and I just spent a mellenia inside a book. Believe me I do not have a favorite. I have no objections to becoming friends."

"Oh wonderful!"

When the passed Robin Malchior flicked his tail and continued to walk, ignoring the obstinate boys shouts. Kori tried to calm him down while Malchior lowered the bridge by pressing some gems against the wall. A bridge extended from the other side of the water fall and cleared a path to the other side. Robin was finally convinced to follow Malchior by Starfire and Cyborg. Malchior lead them to a passage to the left. The walls of the passage was decorated with fossils and creatures preserved in ice.

"Woah" Beast Boy said while he looked up and saw a large shark frozen in battle with an aquatic dinosaur.

"My personal collection. Most I got when the glaciers still exhisted, others I found while travelling. Magic keeps this passage cold enough to prevent the ice from melting."

"It's unreal"

The passage opened to a large orchard and for a moment the Titans believed that they were outside until they noticed that there was a wall and ceiling. The "garden" was so massive that the human eye could not perceive the end.

"How big is this place?" asked Cyborg

"15 miles wide, 18 miles long and 500 feet high. I created a self sustaining environment. Most of the grazing animals will be to your left in the valley, directly in front of you is a forest, and to your right is the fruit orchard and vegetable garden. I suggest that you do not venture into the forest."

"Why not?" asked Robin suspiciously

"Before I was captured I let loose many animals that would have gone extinct were it not for my intervention. Some of these animals are a tad bit volatile."

"Where are you going with Raven?" He questioned again

"I will not remove her from your sight. There is a small home in the Orchard, I will place her in a small room there to rest."

The "small home" they reached was actually a large stone mansion. Malchior gingerly placed Raven on a nearby bench.

"One moment please"

His bones cracked while his tail shrunk away and his scales receded. The team watched in awe as Malchior the dragon slowly tuned into Malchior the man. More importantly they saw him turn into Malchior the NAKED man.

"Dude my eyes!"

"Pants, please for the love of all things holy. Put on some pants"

"Christ! Starfire cover your eyes?"

"Ok"

They heard a door open some shuffling and then a long sigh.

"You may open your eyes now."

He stood before them wearing a white tunic long sleeved shirt and a pair of loose brown trousers. "You may enter." He said as he picked up Raven.


	10. A Sight for Sore Eyes

Raven's eyes fluttered open. She lay there for a few moments and allowed her eyes to adjust. The red velvet canopy was momentarily offending her eyes so she turned to get a look at the rest of the room. To her mild surprise there was a young man sleeping in a large mahogany chair.

He had long messy black hair that fell over his eyes and a very handsome face. Strong jawline, high cheek bones and a straight nose made his face look both masculine and beautiful. The closest comparison she could think of would be a young Johnny Depp or an older Aqualad. There were some strange markings along his temple that took Raven a moment to identify. At first she thought it was dirt or a tattoo until she noticed that it reflected slightly under the sunlight. She realized with a barely audible gasp that the strange markings she had mistaken as tattoos were actually small scales. There was no longer a doubt in her mind about who she was looking at. This was Malchior.

As Raven came to terms with her realization Malchior opened his eyes they were a bright shade of green and his pupils were oddly reptilian.

"So the princess awakens."

Raven kept her mouth closed as she sat up and rubbed her forehead. Her throat was dry she looked around to find anything to look at other than the gorgeous dragon/man sitting next to her. Malchior cleared his throat and she was forced to once again acknowledge his presence. He was holding a glass of water out for her. Raven reached out and took it from him grazing his fingers in the process. She took a sip and ignored the jolt of electricity that she felt when she touched his hand.

"Your friends are eating at the gazebo in the orchard. I will walk you there."

"I can teleport I remember where it is."

"You and I both know your powers haven't returned completely. It would be best if you waited before you used them. You should reserve your powers until you are able to transport your friends from my home to yours. Besides a short walk will be good for you."

"I am not a child."

"That much is evident. Please allow me to walk you to the gazebo. I will leave you with your friends once I'm sure you have arrived safe and sound."

"….Fine."

Raven finished her drink and got out of bed. She noticed that her boots had been removed and looked around for them.

"Slippers are by the bed, it's better for the weather in the orchard."

"Picking out my clothes now?"

"I realize you are often aggressive when you first wake up, but please give credit where it's due. I just ingested a demon, your annoying green friend is asking about visiting the Minotaurs, the masked bird man child keeps on accusing me of killing my former wards. An accusation that I find extraordinarily offensive considering how attached I was to them. The metal man is complaining about meat and I actually think I saw him eyeing my cattle."

"I noticed that you did not mention Kori"

"She is a kind and charming girl…but she rambles. Incessantly. I may need to stuff my ears."

Raven laughed, the noise surprised the both of them. Malchior chose not to draw attention to her laugh and stuck out her elbow for Raven to grab. She raised an eyebrow.

"Humor me. I come from a different time period. Grab my arm, you only have to put up with my presence until the gazebo.

Raven sighed and slipped her hand through his elbow.

Sorry for the short update. Please review!


	11. Magically Sex Crazed Witch

_**Ah, and so I update…with an unusually long chapter. I do not own the characters. And I nom on reviews. Thank you to my new beta! And to everyone who reviews this fic. Btw Jason todd is my favorite robin….so I'm making him red X in future fic. Red hood/ red X! it works!**_

Raven walked down the cobblestone pathway and attempted to ignore the dragon that was guiding her by the arm. Malchior was silent so that made it a little easier for her to ignore his existence. Ignoring him became increasingly difficult when her jell-o legs made her trip on the cobblestone Malchior supported her and kept her from landing face first on the hard pathway.

"Thank You" she mumbled

He merely nodded his head graciously and continued to walk down the path toward the gazebo. She took in her surroundings, looked at anything and everything to keep her mind off him. But it didn't work. His silence was louder than any of Garth's whines or Kori's prattling. The fact that he smelled like a wet dream made her head whirl. If his scent could be bottled it would be sold by the billions. Old Spice would have a field day.

She heard her friends before she saw them and resisted the urge to blush. Victor was yelling at Garth for taking the last mango slice while Robin tried to keep the peace. Only her friends would fight about fruit in the middle of an orchard. She risked a glance at Malchior who merely looked amused at the fight that was threatening to break out.

"I can make it from here."

"You are weakened, I will walk you up the steps and leave you with your friends. The you will be rid of me."

She was about to object to that last comment when she heard Kori call out to her al Malchior. They turned their attention towards the beautiful alien who glided towards them with a smile. Viktor and Garth followed her with relieved smiles while Robin glowered with obvious disapproval to Malchior's presence. Malchior and Raven ignored the hero's petulant glares as they met her friends.

"Friend Raven!"

Kori called out in joy as she rushed toward her friend. Raven braced herself for one of Kori's rubcrushing hugs when Malchior stepped infront of her and halted the aliens rush. Robin tensed a bit and Kori looked surprised.

"Raven is still weakened and will not be able to handle the full force of one of your hugs. Please restrain yourself and only give her a light hug."

Kori's face fell with a mixture of guilt and disappointment. Raven left Malchiors side and hugged Kori who squeeled in delight. It was the first time Raven had initiated a hug and she was exstatic with delight. There were tears in her eyes as she carefully and gently hugged her friend back for the first time.

"Friend Raven we were so worried for you."

"I'm alright Kori."

"The demon didn't do anything to you did it?" Garth asked

"No she was forbidden from hurting me."

"Fobiden by who?"

Robin asked as he joined the group. He gently and quickly hugged Raven then gave her a questioning look.

"My father."

"I thought that we had already dealt with him."

"Trigon can only be truly killed when in his realm. A death in our realm only made him return to his realm. But I do not think he'll attempt to conquer earth again. At least not anytime soon."

"Does this mean that the demon we killed will come back?" Robin asked with some alarm in his voice.

"The demon _I killed _will not be returning. I consumed his energy. Meaning he will not return to his realm only to be placed in another vessel by his followers. There is no return from digestion. Especially from the belly of a dragon. Believe me that demon will not be returning. "

"So why is Raven off limits?"

"Demons only kill their offspring when they are a threat to their power, or when they attack. Other than that they are considered prescious. Raven was a portal but she is also a rare treasure. There are not many examples of demons that successfully procreated with beings outside their species."

"He has scores of bastard children" Raven objected.

"Yes but how many are as powerful as you. Or live past their adolescent years."

"What do you mean?"

Malchior took her arm and walked her towards the gazebo.

"I will explain while you eat. You need your energy."

Raven let out a sigh and obediently sat down to eat. The rest of the team listened attentively.

"Demons and angels can rarely ever truly procreate with humans. To do so requires a great amount of power and a few other conditions. For example, Merlin's mother,Aldan, was a virgin who dreamed of having relations with a man in her sleep. A few months later she discovers that she is pregnant. Her family banishes her but she insists on her chastity so much so that they have a physician examine her. Her maidenhood is still intact and the town is astonished. When she tells them about her dream the village folk believe that she was visited by an old god. The demon that impregnated was extraordinarily powerful, his mother was a virgin, her home was built over an old rune stone, and magic ran in her family. So his father, Leonard I think, enters her dreams and has metaphysical sex with her and deposits a genetic sequence. Her mind subconsciously recreates this genetic sequence and fertilizes an egg in her body with the information he gave her. This is only possible because of her magical capabilities, people who can perform magic have higher brain capacities and are the only ones capable of performing this task."

Malchior motioned to Raven, "For the most part these children are born as superior in everyway. They are beautiful, intelligent, strong and extremely charismatic. This is not only true for half demons but for the offspring of any union between humans and immortals."

Malchior took a bite out of a peach and continued, "If the children have too much demonic genetic code they go insane and kill themselves or get themselves killed. Usually around the age of adolescence they become extremely violent and volatile. Puberty drives them to violent acts or the body can no longer handle the genetic imbalance and the child dies during their first hormonal surge."

"Wow, I thought my teen years were rough."

"Yes, well this is a tad bit more serious than acne and erratic moodswings." Malchior leaned back in his chair and popped a strawberry into his mouth.

"As I was saying if the genetic code is not balanced out you are left with you are left with either an oddly echanting human or a rabid monstrosity that will not live to see its twentieth year. In Merlin's and Raven's case the mix was as perfect as possible. The child is born with awesome magical powers and the ability to live on both realms. The perfect hybrid, with the powers of both the parents and the lifespan of an immortal. In your case you occasionally lose control of yourself during emotional stimuli."

"Merlin can lose control around other half demons and demonic objects."  
"Ah so you met him."

The team turned towards Raven in shock. She merely shrugged her shoulders and turned towards Malchior.

"How is he."

"Trying to recreate dragons and keeping Nimue busy. He's technologically inept."

"Understandable at his age. Did you manage to meet Morgana?"

"La Fey"

"Yes she's Oberon's mother. From what I remember she took Mordred and a few other knights to the fae court."

"Can we get back to the topic, why is Raven being protected by her father?"

Raven and Malchior stared at Robin with identical looks of mild annoyance. Robin crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

"I thought it would be obvious. A being this rare and powerful is considered a prize and a first hand influence in this realm. Not only that, they are excellent bargaining chips."

"A bargaining chip?"

"Say Trigon is having a border conflict with another powerful demon or wants to build an alliance with said demon. He drops Ravens name, the two demons begin to negotiate and Trigon can give the other demon permission to court Raven or another one of his children. Considering Ravens power he probably can give permission to anywhere between three and fifteen suitors."

Beast Boys jaw slackened and the kiwi he was chewing fell out onto his lap.

Malchior snarled "Charming"

"So the demon was…"

"It was not one of my suitors, it mentioned it would not hurt me because of my father and suitor. Singular not plural so we're only dealing with one."

"Can we be sure it wasn't your ….demon fiancé?"

"The demon was powerful, but not powerful enough to control its power output and maintain the body for more than a day. When a demon like Trigon takes over a body it can last decades without the body degenerating to that extent."

"When will this fiancé appear?"

"The only appropriate way to respond is to use your generations vernacular…Hell if I know. Will he try to stake his claim early on and defend her from any other potential rivals? Or will he wait for Raven's powers to develop further so that she is more useful and more open to his advances. "

"As if that would happen."

"You are strong willed, but as you age your body will desire a mate and a mere human wil not satisfy. You will naturally be drawn to unnatural beings. Fae, Immortals, gods of legend, any creature that is immortal or with strong ties to magic."

Raven stared at him as he told her that she would become a magically sex crazed witch, like he was talking about what he had for breakfast.

"But you have years before your body's needs override your control."  
"Great."

The team tried to digest what Malchior had just revealed.

"Malchior, please leave, we need to talk,…alone."

"Certainly, I need to survey my lands."

Robin watched Malchior as he left the gazebo. When the dragon reached the bottom step he stopped and turned slightly towards the Titans.

"One question before I take my leave of you."

Robin's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What?"

"Where is the child?"

_**(*(*(*(**(*(*(**_

**_Add comments and reviews!_**


	12. Elation

Ah, and so I update…with an unusually long chapter. I do not own the characters. And I nom on reviews. Thank you to my new beta! And to everyone who reviews this fic. Btw Jason todd is my favorite robin….so I'm making him red X in future fic. Red hood/ red X! it works!

Raven tapped her foot against the floor repeatedly and watched Garfield fly by a third time. Malchior was leaning against the gazebo and staring out at the sky. She let out a rather large sigh and popped a strawberry in her mouth. The revelation that the Titans had forgotten a traumatized child in the depths of a dragons cave hit all the team members hard. The poor child was lost, scared, probably hungry and still dealing with the trauma of having ridden in a boat with a demon and several body parts. Raven turned towards Malchior.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

Malchior stared blankly at her, "Are you saying you want my help?"

Raven momentarily grit her teeth and clenched her hands but managed to maintain an apathetic expression. "Yes, I am"

"All you need to do is ask and it shall be done."

"The fact that I need to ask seriously damages your reputation."

"You assume that I haven't already taken steps to find the child."

Raven stared blankly at him and blinked.

"In case you're wondering my sentries have not seen him yet."

Raven raised a questioning eyebrow and Malchior moved from his spot to sit next to her.

"One benefit of being a dragon is that I can converse with all animals and I can command most. I specifically use the skills of various basilisks I have in my home."

"I thought dragons could only speak to birds."

"We are born with the ability to speak and command all animals of flight. As we grow older we branch out to other creatures."

"Well you're just full of surprises."

Malchior smiled wolfishly and sipped his tea while Raven bit into yet another strawberry. A hawke flew into the gazebo and landed in front of Malchior.

"It seems our small friend has been discovered. Elation will take us to him."

Malchior stood up and held out his hand for her. "I believe that it will be easier for him if you came to his rescue yet again."

Malchior stood up and held his hand out for Raven. She stared at him momentarily then sighed and allowed him to help her up. They walked along the path and followed Elation through the forest. Sun speckled through the forest canopy and lit their path as they followed Elation who hopped from tree to tree. A basilisk came by and sat on Malchior's shoulder he smiled and fed it something from his pocket. Raven noticed a centaur watching them from behind the foliage holding a bow and arrow. Malchior glared at him and it trotted away.

"I've been away for far too long, they forgot who's in charge. News of my arrival should travel to the elders. Hopefully they will not challenge me and start any trouble."

"How will you know if there will?"

"There won't be a welcoming party or offerings when we go back to my home."

"You act like a tyrant"

"I have to be in charge and they have to remember that, It's the only way that the balance is kept. My threat keeps everyone in charge and within their perimeters'. Humans, centaurs and every other territorial being in here were constantly trying my patience by demanding more land than what they were afforded. I expect in my absence there has been some violence. With my return they had better fall back into line."

Raven nodded with some level of understanding. It was Malchior's realm and he had to keep order.

"I think we're here"

Raven looked up as they came upon a medow, A Griffon was sunbathing on a nearby boulder and turned his gaze on them. Raven stood perfectly still as the animals eyes met with hers, he turned his head and motioned with one wing towards a large tree at the end of the meadow. Raven narrowed her eyes and noticed a hollow space in between the roots, it was large enough for a child to crawl through but probably too small for her.

"What's the boys name?"

Raven scanned the boys mind, Alex.

"Alex"

"Can you lure him out?"

Raven got down on her knees and peered into the hole. Alex was curled up against the back of the tree.

"Alex, it's safe to come out." She murmured in what she hoped was a comforting tone. It must not have been so comforting since he only whimpered in response.

Malchior held out his arm and elation landed with a loud cry.

"Alex do you like animals?"

He peered out from the shadows and looked at elation with a mixture of awe and joy.

"If you want I can get you a glove, she won't bite as long as you're gentle."

Elation preened and Alex took a tentative step out. When he caught sight of Malchior's eyes he started to back away.

"It's alright," Raven assured him "He's my friend, he won't hurt you."

"I assure you no harm shall come to pass against you. Especially by my hand."

"We also have food, fresh clothes, a place to sleep."

Alex thought about it for a moment, then Elation ruffled her feathers and preened some more. He came out slowly reminding Raven of a scared animal. His shirt and pants were still stained with blood and he still had tear streaks on his cheeks.

"What's his name?"

"Her name is Elation, it means joy. You may pet her along the crest of her head."

Alex came forward and reached his hand out tentatively, Elation tilted forward and allowed Alex to pet her. He turned to look at Raven and Malchior and smiled.

"Come, I think it's time for a bath and a good meal."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It took so long for me to update, sorry! Need to find my beta…


	13. Making the Wold Dissapear

Raven watched Garfield entertain Alex with his transformation while Malchior informed a very pissed robin about their discovery. She hated to admit it but Red X was right, Robin was too uptight, though the thief had put it more colorfully…. something about sand and tights. While she hated to admit it Malchior was being the perfect host while her friends were acting rude and or aggressive. The only person who was acting at all pleasant was Starfire who was currently trying to consume her weight in strawberries. Malchior seemed to have finished telling Robin the tale of their discovery because Robin looked like he was about to berate him for some triviality. She stood up to interrupt their conversation before Robin said something stupid to anger the dragon when Cyborg did it for her. He placed his massive metal hand on Robins shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks for the help and the food."

"No thanks necessary, I could hardly let you wander about and starve. Is there anything else you need?"

Cyborg blushed and shifted uncomfortably, "actually, there's something I've been wondering?"

Malchior raised a skeptical eyebrow "yes?"

"Where is the toilet?"

"There are no modern amenities like toilets or refrigerators here. If you need to relieve yourself there is a lavatory down the hall to your right. The plumbing design is different from what you are used to but similar. Just pull on the lever by the sink when you are done and your waste will be dealt with by the incinerator."

Cyrborg sprinted down the hall with Beast Boy following close behind, complaining that he needed it more. Raven rolled her eyes while Malchior held in his laughter.

"When do you think we can leave." Robin asked

Malchior stepped towards Raven and stroked her cheek, Raven remained motionless as he gauged her power level. His hands were warm and gentle, she leaned slightly into them despite herself. Robin misinterpreted Malchior's actions and stepped forward, before he could do anything rash Malchior stepped away.

"Two days at the very least. Usually I would tell you to travel through one of my tunnels to a cave entrance but I don't know they are secure or if they even exist anymore. The safest option you have is to wait until Raven can teleport all of you. Unless I still have some filled gems lying around."

"Could you check."

"I would still take you a day and a half to reach the surface. You don't have your motorized vehicles."

"You got in pretty quickly."

"I came in through underground water tunnels near volcanoes. Even if you had your aquatic machine I highly doubt it could withstand the heat. Patience is a virtue, I suggest you find some."

Raven stepped in before Robin could start another fight.

"What about the soul gems?"

"I could have a few spare lying around. I'll check after I visit the nearby village. I have not seen my people in millennium and I need to see how they are coping. There is a road not far from here that will take you there but I suggest you not take it until I return. The village may have become hostile or forgotten me. I will return and tell you if it is safe. Stay within the confines of my home it is warded and will keep my more dangerous tenants out. I will return before the sunfish sleep...my version of nightfall."

Malchior did a light bow and walked out leaving Raven and Robin alone in his sitting room.

Raven sat in her chair and took a sip out of the lemon tea Malchior had set out earlier. She knew that Robin was mentally raving but she waited patiently for him to figure out what to say. His anger was starting to affect her, a residual side effect from when she took that small trip into his head, so she decided to be calm and ignore for the time being. He stood in front of her and loomed in a way that she was sure he had learned from his adoptive father. Batman had taught his eldest protégée how to stand and make any man feel small and insignificant. It was the classic masked glare, the clenching of the jaw and the still way he stood over her that would have been impressive, if she hadn't seen it a million times before during interrogation. She didn't fidget or avert her eyes, mere sat and continued to sipped her tea. Finally Robin fidgeted and cleared his throat she looked up from her drink and raised an eyebrow.

"Damn it Raven you really have nothing to say."

"What should I say, _Dick_? That you are acting like a petulant child and an ungrateful guest, that you're blaming me and Malchior for the predicament we're in, or that you're trying to use your Nightwing persona on me. Yes, I'm so sorry for setting a dragon free to kill a demon that had been rampaging through the city. I'm sorry I teleported us to the safest possible place. I'm sorry that you are being treated and fed well."

Robin opened his mouth to try and fight back but Raven interrupted him again.

"Oh and I'm sorry that you can't be back at Jump city micromanaging the situation."

Robin clenched his jaw and glared at Raven while she looked up at him with one of her bored expressions. He finally let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine I get it I'm being an ass. But the people nee-"

"The people have their government, each other, the Justice league will probably be down there not only helping but also looking for us and Titans East will probably be there too. You can't control the situation you can only sit down eat some fruit and calm down."

"Well what are we going to do about your fiancé?"

"We'll deal with that issue when it pops up, If it pops up. Until then worrying yourself to death wont help. We'll be home in a day or two. If you don't want to eat or relax go be with your girlfriend who almost died a few hours ago. In case you didn't notice she's pretty shaken up."

Robin looked at her with surprise and a slightly stupid slack jawed expression. She rolled her eyes and pointed at herself.

"Empath"

Robin turned and started walking out of the room, he stopped at the doorway and looked back at her.

"Sorry Rae…and thanks"

Raven gave him the smallest of smiles and he walked out. She sipped on her lemon leaf tea and closed her eyes as if doing do would make the world and all its troubles disappear.

XXXXXX

Sorry for the VERY long delay. I've recently discovered that juggling is not my thing. Oh I have a boyfriend. Very cute, very sweet and VERY DISTRACTING! As soon as I sit down to write or draw I want to call him or when we are together I decide sex is more fun than writing. But here is my update and I have the next chapter drafted already. It's no small coincidence that this update comes a couple of weeks after he started a new work schedule. There should be a new one within the month. I hope….If my libido takes a drop.


	14. Open Sesame

Paper to Flesh

Chapter 14

Malchior walked along the path, enjoying the warmth of the sunfish on his skin and the power of his meal, which was sitting well with him. The surge of power he felt was euphoric and probably the only reason he had not attacked Raven's obstinate friend. The boy had an unhealthy amount of paranoia and lack of manners or gratitude. Every time he raised his voice to Raven, Malchior had to resist the urge to burn him to a crisp. Robin, Nightwing, or whatever he was calling himself today, had ruined his good mood the moment he opened his mouth. Luckily his meal, the joy of freedom, and Raven kept his anger at bay.

Raven.

The young sorceress had been on his mind for the past 5 years. He would not deny that he had romantic feelings for the sorceress; she had caused him to go half mad with rage every time she began a new relationship. No, his feelings were far too strong to deny, but he would not act upon them. Raven still didn't trust him and he would be a fool to believe that she could reciprocate his feelings. He had romanced her, lied to her, and tried to _**eat**_her. She was not some weak willed woman that he could manipulate and bend to his will. She was a powerful sorceress with a sharp mind and even sharper tongue, and he loved her all the more for it.

"Love?" he questioned aloud in mild shock.

Did he really love her, or did he merely want to possess her? He was a dragon, and by nature he was extremely territorial. She had been "his" once, and he rarely ever gave up a possession. The rational side of his mind knew that he could never _possess_ her, for she wasn't an object and would probably kill him if she ever found out that he thought of her as one. But the primal part of his mind, the same part that drove him to collect valuables like a magpie on meth, saw Raven as **His.**That possessiveness could not be denied. He could rein it in, but he could not think of her as anything other than his. But did that mean he loved her? Malchior desired Raven (he'd have to be insane not to). He enjoyed her company and cared for her safety, but did he love her?

A basilisk screeched in the branch above him. Malchior was thankful for the distraction and beckoned the creature. He allowed the basilisk to land on his forearm and watched as it wrapped its plumed tail around his wrist for balance.

"Keep an eye on my guests. Make sure they do not stray past the barrier of my estate and that none of my more volatile tenants come in contact with them. Protect them from any harm…especially the demoness and child."

The smaller reptile tilted his head and blinked.

"Do this and I will kill a deer for you and your kin."

The basilisk screeched happily and took flight. His flock emerged from the nearby tree and followed him to the estate.

Malchior watched the basilisks fly away with a smile on his face. The shape shifting serpents had taken a liking to flight and acted more like birds than snakes. He wasn't even sure if they were truly snakes, for he had never looked upon a basilisk's true form.

Malchior was uncharacteristically happy during his walk. He kept his mind off of Raven and his guests and geared his thoughts towards what he would do once he reached town. Last time he was here, there was a council of elders that decided the laws and codes of the town. Malchior allowed his tenants to govern as they wished; he interfered as little as possible with the town and surrounding tribes. He only involved himself when there was a border dispute or someone petitioned him for his help.

There were times when he briefly considered chasing his tenants back to the surface world. This usually occurred during a border dispute or when some insane cult formed. He really had no need or use for all the people that lived in his home; they were only there because they were descendants of his wards that had chosen to stay and/or the knights who had come to slay the "_Evil_" dragon. His or her children were raised in a land where there was no famine, war, or disease. Crime was almost nonexistent and humans lived longer lives in his cave; the wells, springs, and rivers extended their life expectancy by more than two hundred years. The Fae that came to live in his land did not have to worry about politics of the Seelie and Un-Seelie court. Over time, Malchior's network of caves had become a refuge for magical creatures escaping poachers, Fae who tired of court intrigues, and humans who didn't quite belong. Many people and cultures would undoubtedly clash, but with his guiding hand he had avoided any major bloodshed. His long and unexplained absence would definitely change that.

Damned Rorek ruined everything! He only traveled to the surface world to stretch his wings or hunt. That month he was going through another stage of growth and needed to eat more cattle than usual. He always made sure to eat wild animals or cattle from wealthy lords and kings; they would not suffer from the loss of a goat or cow like their vassals would. With his increased time above ground, Malchior drew the attention of the people. Soon a few knights came to try and kill him while he was sunbathing. He had responded by picking them up and dumping them on the castle roof. A week later, Malchior had noticed a crowd of people tying a maiden to a pole. He picked up his sacrifice and learned of the corruption in the castle. The King taxed his people to near starvation and took special privileges with the village women and, on occasion, the children. Diana, his offering, begged him to kill the king before he took advantage of her little sister. It was a simple enough request. Roast a few guards, eat the king, and maybe knock down a tower or two. Malchior wreaked havoc on the castle and took Diana's sister to his home where Diana opened a flower shop.

Killing the King alerted Rorek to Malchior's presence, and a year later Malchior was trapped in a god-forsaken book. He knew he should not have answered Rorek's challenge, he had no quarrel with the mage and knew him to be honorable, but his latest growth and the upcoming mating season made him reckless.

Malchior stopped when he noticed a small hooded figure, her wrists and hands were sporting what looked like fresh welts. Malchior was upon the child in an instant.

"Who?" The dragon demanded angrily.

The child looked up at him with mismatched eyes and soft white hair curling around her face. He grabbed her wrists and asked again.

"Who?"

She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw in a mixture of pain and fear. Malchior slowed his breathing and loosened his grip on the child.

"I am sorry. Anger is the emotion my people have the most difficulty controlling. I do not want to hurt you; I just wish to know the name of the one who inflicted such harsh wounds on such a young child. If I let you go, will you promise not to run away and answer my questions?"

She blinked once, and then nodded. He let go of her and backed away from her while she massaged her wrists. Malchior waited for her heart rate to slow down before asking her first question.

"What is your name?"

"Kara" The injured child responded in a strong voice.

"Who gave you those wounds?"

"The Apothecary on Seville Street"

"And why would he do that?"

"I took some thistle root from his store. It's for my grandmother; she's had a fever for three days. The thistle root is so expensive and I couldn't find any in the forest without venturing into centaur territory."

Malchior let out a tired sigh and leaned back things had truly become volatile. Not only were centaurs and human relationships deteriorating, but capitalism had also taken root in his home.

"How much do they cost?" The dragon persisted in questioning.

"50 drakons. Even if I had that much money, he would not sell to me."

"Why?"

"Because I am a Halfling," she said with despair. Kara pulled down the hood of her cloak and revealed the rest of her features. At first he thought her hair was messy, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that there were feathers sprouting up from her scalp. One eye was yellow and bird-like while the other was a normal, human shade of blue. She was going to be a beautiful woman when she grew up; he didn't understand her shame. His land was supposed to be a sanctuary for people like her. How could it have changed so much in his absence? Malchior sighed and took out a dagger. Kara started to scramble away, but he grabbed her wrist.

"This is not for you." He let go of her wrist and chopped off a lock of his hair.

"Hold this and walk down the path towards my home, little Halfling. In the kitchen cupboards you will find all that you need. If anyone or anything tries to stop you, hold up this lock of hair and say that Malchior has granted you access to his home. No matter how fearsome the beast, it will let you past."

"Thank you m'lord"

"Go now."

Malchior watched Kara leave with her cloak trailing behind her. He had hoped that he would return to the peaceful land he had left. Now he had to face a war-torn land and racist town. He held back his anger and marched forward.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Raven woke up from her nap with a jolt when she heard a loud crash. She got up from her seat and walked towards the sound. Garfield and Victor were sprawled on the ground; Richard had his face in his hands, and Kori floated nearby holding Alex and looking on with concern.

"What now?"

Garfield looked sheepishly up at her while Victor kicked him off of the changeling/cyborg pile. Richard turned towards Raven and motioned towards the door.

"It's locked."

Raven looked and saw a large arched double door with an intricate carving of a woman riding a dragon into battle. It was a spectacular example of Fae craftsmanship. She turned towards Richard and raised an eyebrow.

"The door is locked."

Richard blushed, "Yes"

"And you are trying to open it because…?"

"I just told you that it's locked"

"Yes you did, and I don't think that I need to remind you that we are guests in a very powerful dragon's home, so this isn't exactly polite."

"He's a bad guy." Garfield objected weakly.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"He's a dragon; he's not plotting to rule the world, destroy the universe, or rob anyone. He just had a substantial meal, so he won't be going on a feeding frenzy anytime soon. I'm pretty sure he's not plotting anything." Raven noticed that Nightwing started to object, so she raised a single finger to shut him up.

"Even if he _was_ plotting something, you would not find anything in there. In case you have forgotten, he hasn't been here for thousands of years, so I _highly doubt_ that the blueprints for a nefarious device will be anywhere in there."

Richard opened his mouth to object again.

"In other words you will not, _under any circumstances,_ open this door." She tapped the door to emphasize her statement "We're his gues-" Raven stopped and looked on in wide-eyed amazement. The carvings had come to life. The woman jumped off the dragon and both went to separate doors. The dragon dozed off on his side while the woman polished her sword.

The team stared in flabbergasted amazement until Garfield broke the silence.

"Way to go Raven!" He ran forward along with Cyborg and Nightwing. Raven rubbed her temples and already felt the beginnings of another headache. She felt Kori place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We must go too, friend Raven. If we do not, our friends may break something of Malchior's"

Raven smiled weakly at Kori and followed her in.

XXXXXXX

Big thanks to my new beta Jezebel.


	15. Lions, Dragons and Stubborn Fools

Paper to Flesh

Lions, Dragons, and Stubborn Fools

Raven walked through a hallway decorated with various portraits of beautiful women and pretty girls. Nightwing and the rest of the Titans were staring at different portraits.

"Carbon dating puts these paintings at more than one thousand years old" Cyborg said as he scanned the paintings.

"Who are they?" Kori asked as she looked at a portrait of a pretty blonde girl with flowers in her hair. Nightwing and the rest of the guys were staring at different portraits.

"Sacrifices." Raven said simply.

"What?!" Robin exclaimed incredulously.

"Whenever misfortune befell a kingdom or village, the people would sacrifice a young virgin to the dragons. Or, if a dragon was seen in the countryside, the villages would sacrifice a virgin to keep their cattle safe."

"Should I even ask what he wanted with the virgins?"

"He didn't want the virgins. Dragons value gold and gems. The sacrifices were just the result of human superstition. Most of the time the dragons were more interested in the jewelry the sacrifices were wearing."

They walked through the hallway, stopping occasionally to inspect the paintings. The hallway eventually emptied out into a circular room. It took Raven a few seconds to realize that this was Malchior's study.

The ceiling was a dome made of glass and all along the walls there were books, scrolls and paintings. Raven noticed an easel next to Malchior's large mahogany desk and what seemed to be a pet bed.

"What's this?" Garfield asked as he reached out to touch an orb that floated above a pedestal. Raven's power snaked around his wrist and pulled him back.

"That is an Orb of Nel. If the wrong person touches it, the orb will drain you of all your memories, leaving you as nothing but a drooling husk. And since I see at least six other artifacts in this room of equal or greater power I suggest that nobody touch _**anything**_!" Everyone in the room took one step away from whatever object that they had been looking at and Garfield flashed Raven a sheepish grin. She pinned him with one of her signature glares.

"Don't touch anything, read anything, or even stare too strongly at anything. Got it?"

"Got it."

Alex was happily sitting on a chair playing with a basilisk that had turned into a ferret. Raven sat down next to him and sighed.

"Why does Nightwing think that Malchior is a bad guy?"

"It's because he is a paranoid, stubborn, thickheaded fool." Raven blurted out in frustration. She noticed Richard's shoulders stiffen and she bit her lower lip.

"Malchior also did something bad many years ago, but he was punished for it and now he is free."

"I like him."

Raven didn't know how to respond so she just smiled at him and hoped for Malchior to return quickly.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Malchior reached a fork in the road and looked around. He smelled something predatory but familiar. A rustle in the leaves above him was the only warning he needed. Malchior jumped from his spot before the sphinx could land on him.

"Krona, do you really need to do this every time you see me? I don't know if you have heard, but there is this not-so-new practice of saying hello instead of pouncing on a friends head."

The Sphinx smiled and rubbed against him with a deep purr. He gently scratched her below the chin. "Yes, I missed you too. Would you mind shifting out of your lion form and into your human form?"

Krona stepped back and tilted her head playfully at him. She was a magnificent lioness with clean golden fur and intelligent honey colored eyes. The only discernible difference between her and another lioness was her size and the distinctive Egyptian markings around her eyes. Krona started licking her paws while she flicked her tail from side to side.

"Krona I am in no mood for games."

She yawned then stood to stretch, slowly shifting into her human form. Where once there was a lioness there stood a beautiful naked blonde woman with honey colored eyes and sun kissed skin. Krona didn't cover herself or blush; she just tilted her head to the side and flashed Malchior a cat-like smile. Malchior summoned a short toga and, with a flick of his wrist, she was clothed in the garment.

"Well you're no fun." Krona said with a playful pout.

"I've no time for games."

"Ah yes, your little social experiment has been failing without your insightful and strong guidance."

"I had thought that I left clear guidelines."

"You know humans, Malchior. Most would be lucky to have the attention span of even a field mouse. Did you really expect your Utopia to last without you?"

"I had hoped."

Krona shrugged her shoulder and leaned against a tree.

"We had assumed that your were killed by Rorek."

"Not killed. He could not kill me, so he trapped me in a book."

"I suspect that your presence has something to do with your blood bond."

"You are correct."

"It smells of a demoness. Shame on you Malchior, having all that fun without me"

Malchior smiled; Kora's playfulness knew no bounds.

"Ooh, a smile! I was worried that I had lost my touch!"

"Hardly. Is there anything I should know before I venture further?"

"Your Utopia has become split into three regions. The humans and the Fae have their own sections of the city and land while the mixed breeds stick to the slums and forest. Drakons, silvers, and coppers are the main form of currency. Each sector has its own police force and a council rules the entire city. The land has become a Capitalistic Oligarchy with severe racial, social, and economic problems. You're going to have to kill a lot of people to get things in order."

"Or I could evict all who do not adhere to my guidelines"

Krona stopped smiling and fixed him with a stare.

"You can't always be the good guy. If you have to roast a few people to keep them in line then so be it, but if you release them to the surface world, they may bring the surface world back here. Either they adhere to your demands or they die. It may be harsh, but it is necessary."

"I don't ever recall referring to myself as the 'good guy'. And I was going to wipe their memories before releasing them."

"We sealed the entrances after your disappearance to avoid any interaction with the surface world. If you want to release someone you will need to reopen those tunnels before you take any action."

Malchior tilted his head back and took in a deep breath.

"Do you want me to come along?"

"You would probably exacerbate the situation."

"So that's a yes."

Malchior chuckled and walked towards the city while Krona chattered happily behind him.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Alright Nightwing you haven't found anything can we please leave?"

"Yeah man, there's nothing nefarious here." Cyborg said from his seat.

Nightwing was about to object when Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder, offering him a small smile.

"…Fine"

"Awesome! Hey Rae, do you think Malchior has a TV?"

Raven raised an eyebrow and fixed Garfield with a stare.

"Uh…never mind."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Ok ladies and gents. This update came early. In case you didn't notice I am really into world building. I rushed this update. On a side note, I desperately need a beta-reader. So if there are any out there who are keeping up with my story and wouldn't mind some collaboration, please contact me.

Next Chapter: Malchior deals with things and possibly sends Raven home.


	16. The Only Thing You Can Do

**Author's note to readers (please read):**

_I wanted to apologize for the late update. A lot has happened in the past couple of months that have affected me and my writing. After years of living under my parents roof and trying to find a way to leave under their terms I finally realized that I could never leave under their terms. I moved in with my boyfriend and as a result of this decision I was disowned by my father. His exact word were _

"_If you do this then you are dead to me. I don't want you calling me, I don't want to see or hear from you ever again. I wont go to your wedding. I wont recognize your children or anyone else from your life and I don't want you at my funeral."_

_Needless to say I was crushed and in a moment of weakness I was willing to try the unthinkable. I packed my things and wrote a note grabbed my exacto knife and went into the bathtub. I felt helpless and lost. The most important man in my life, the man who gave me my moral compass and taught me everything I know told me I was dead if I left so what was the point of living. Every second I spent in that house made me miserable and I couldn't stand the thought of another moment of it. I sank into the tub and let my head rest at the bottom. In the silence that came I realized that I couldn't do it. Despite his decision I still had the love of my mother, and I could never set this kind of example for my little brother and sister. I left that morning with nothing but my clothes, some books and the realization that my life was finally starting. Now I'm looking for a job in a city where no one knows my name. Father took away my computer and we don't have enough money for the internet so I'm writing this chapter from the library. The reason why I'm sharing this experience is because it is my firm belief that is not just a place to entertain yourself and others but a community of like minded people. Writing isn't just for entertainment, it's a way to vent and reach out to the world. So this is me reaching out and telling anyone who has ever thought of suicide that death is not the answer. I am living off of rice in a tiny apartment with no cable, no internet or phone in a city where 90 degrees is considered a cool day, with the man I love and I couldn't be happier. I've been through hell, child abuse, child molestation, my brothers death, heart break, identity crisis and I can tell you that if you fight through the darkness you will eventually come out into the light. It's the only thing you can do, fight._

_I will do my best to update this story as often as I can. I want to thank all of you for your continuing support and praise. _

The Only Thing You Can Do

When Malchior entered the town he did not attract much attention on the other hand, Krona drew more attention than he would in his dragon form by flirting with both men and women.

"Krona, do you need to draw so much attention?"

"Maybe"

"I swear by all the divines you act more like a silly human woman than sphinx"

Krona let out a little gasp. "You take that back!"

"When you act serious. Pretend you're on a hunt or that there is a new male vying for your attention."

"You mean I should act like I'm apathetic and better than everyone."

"...Sure."

"Thats a tad bit difficult without shoes."

Malchior snapped his fingers and a pair of gladiator sandals were suddenly on her foot. He ignored her _witty_ commentary and walked forward to the central market place. Malchior looked around and noticed that there were only humans in the marketplace. He pulled his cloak over his head to cover his scales and eyes. According to Krona the human sector was notoriously racist,while the fae sectors treated halflings like second class citizens and a fae as the source of problems in the city. Krona could possibly pass as an eccentric human if no one looked too closely at her eyes but his ears and the glare of his scales would be a dead giveaway.

There was a man to the center of the market place who was standing on a crate ranting and raving about how fae and halflings were ruining the city.

"We should not have to suffer the presence of these abominations! I say we should wipe their filth from the face of the earth. They are not human or fae they are monstrosities and should be removed from society like one would remove a tumor"

The crowd that gathered around him had a few people that wore red robes like him.

"Those are the _Reinrassig's_1. Every couple of weeks they rile up a mob and kill some poor halflings that wander into the sector. Or if they can't find any in the human sector they go to the border of halfling sectors and start raiding homes. The mad man on the crate is responsible for slitting dozens of throats and his followers say that he is sent by the Divines to raise humans above the fae. To wear a red robe you must take a life to ensure the superiority of man."

"I assume that he is only standing because he has not killed a member of your pride."

"De Well is crazy, not stupid. He only goes after those that have no protection."

For the next ten minutes Malchior listened to De Well spew the most hate filled bigoted speech he had ever witnessed. De Well gathered a large crowd that was bordering on mob size.

"I speak for the lord and all the great divines when I say that all who oppose their will shall be struck down!"

Malchior smiled that was all the invitation he needed. He summoned his fire and ignited De Wells robes. The crowd looked on in horror and confusion as De Well was suddenly engulfed in flames. His followers rushed to the stage to put out the flames but nothing worked. De Wells cries rang out across the marketplace. Malchior flicked his wrists and all the other red robes caught fire in a similar fashion. No matter how much the crowd tried each and every Red Robe continued to burn to their death.

"What happened to laying low?" Krona said with a satisfied smirk.

Malchior's eyes glowed with the use of his power as he kept the flames contained only to the Red Robes.

"Dragons do not lay low. We fly above it all and if our vassals step out of line we drag them back."

"Burn another, Please!" She said with joyful bounce.

Malchior pulled off his cloak and summoned the flames higher.

"Smiting is fun."

"It has been a while."

"Looks like your tenants have noticed us."

A group of guards were advancing towards Malchior and Krona. Malchior manipulated the flames in the form of a dragon and launched it at the guards. While Malchior's flames kept most of the guards at bay Krona broke the neck of any guards that made it through.

"Knock them out!"

"You're no-" Krona flung a guard into the crowd. "fun."

Malchior and Krona continued to fight until the city-guard and the citizens stood down.

"Unless you want me to continue I would suggest you bring your leaders and the leaders of the fae community here."

"Who should I say is calling." asked a gaurd

"Malchior."

)o(

Raven watched Victor and Garfield entertain Alex with their antics while Kori and Richard set out some plates. They were all feeling a bit peckish after exploring Malchior's study. Richard called the team to eat and everyone took a seat. Alex said grace and the team served themselves.

"Fruit again. Where's the meat?! We're at a dragon's house there should be a butcher shop around here."

At that moment a dead rabbit fell right onto his plate from above. Everyone looked up in time to see a winged lizard give a screech and fly away.

"I think I'm going to puke ." Garfield said as his face turned green..er.

"What the hell was that?"

"Probably a basilisk. They can take any form they want and obey Malchior, Since we're guests they listened to your complaint and responded with this carcass."

"Is it wrong that some part of me still wants to cook and eat it."

"yes."

"Damn."

Raven suppressed a smile and served herself some strawberries and kiwi. Halfway through their meal she heard a rustle in the kitchen. She excused herself from the table and went to go investigate the noise. Raven walked into the kitchen and saw all the cupboards and drawers were open. There was a rustle from the kitchen pantry and the sound of glass clinking together. She walked into the pantry and saw a little girl riffling through the herbs and spices.

"Looking for something in particular?"

She gasped and turned around holding up a lock of hair like a shield. Raven raised a single eyebrow and looked down at the girl in restrained confusion.

"Is there any particular reason you're waving someone elses hair at me and riffling through the pantry?"

"He said I could."

"Who?"

"He called himself Malchior and have me this so that the creatures would leave me alone."

"Ah, that explains how you got past the guards, but what are you looking for?"

"Thistle root for grandmothers fever."

"Do you have iscus petals and lemon leaf?"

"I thought thistle root was enough.

Raven reached over the girl and picked out the ingredients.

"You'll want to put that jar back unless you want to feed your grandmother jarrin root."

The girl let out a little gasp and carefully put the jar back. She followed Raven out into the kitchen and watched as she gathered the ingredients. Raven took out a lemon cloth and cut them into small squares then proceeded to make several individual tea bags.

"Give this to your grandmother and don't forget to add the honey."

"Thank you...I don't know your name."

"Raven, and you are?"

"Kara"

"Well Kara, good luck and stay safe."

Kara smiled shyly and ran out clutching the ingredients to her chest like a precious package. Raven smiled and the retreating figure and turned around. Nightwing was leaning against the doorframe watching her, Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Who was that girl?"

"Kara, probably one of the village people who live here. She was looking for some herbs for her grandmother. If I had to guess she met Malchior along the path."

"Why didn't you ask her anymore questions."

"Why would I?"

"To see what's going on in the town. To find out what Malchior is doing, to be a little more informed."

"It's none of our business."

"what the hell does that mean?!"

"It means we are in another realm. We have no authority here and there are probably political issues we can barely start to comprehend. Whatever Malchior does her can only be considered as a kings actions within his realm."

"So now he's a king?!"

"Look Dick, it doesn't matter what you think. This is Malchior's home and those are his subjects. Your modern western traditions have no relevance here. These people aren't just stuck in medieval times, this is a land of magic and as a member of the magical community I can tell you that none of you can even begin to understand the complexities of our world. So kindly back off. I'll tell you when we can intervene."

"What if he starts killing people."

"Then you can view it as a king eliminating those he must."

"Must!"

"Like I said before, you can not begin to understand. We are in a different world and we have to abide by their rules. If it makes you feel any better he can't kill or harm any innocents."

"Killing is still wrong."

Raven sighed and started to walk away.

"Sometimes it's the only thing you can do."

1 German for pure blood or pure blooded. google translate better be right.


	17. Obsidian and Porcelain

**Authors note: **_Finally typed up this chapter, It's really short. Decided to give you guys a look at what was happening on the surface while Raven was recuperating. We will be leaving the cave soon so enjoy this setting while it lasts. On a side note I want to thank everyone for being so supportive and understanding. Your words of encouragement really help to brighten my day. _

**Obsidian and Porcelain**

Garth swam through Jump City Bay looking for any signs of the battle. So far he had found two trucks, five boats and several body parts from the demons corpse boat. He swam closer to Titans tower and found a scorched book weighed down by rocks. He peered closer at the title and chuckled when he saw Twilight. He had thought Raven was exaggerating when she told him the story of her first time reading "That putrid pile of shit". As he got closer to the tower he noticed something glint in the light. He swam closer and dug the object out from under some rocks. Garth swam up to the surface to get a better look at it. Under the light of the sun he saw that it was a black scale that shone like obsidian. Garth grabbed his Comlink and called the rest of the team.

"Guys, I think I found something, meet you at the tower."

"Got it"

"Ay Vamos"

"Already there."

"Good Job Garth"

Garth climbed out onto the banks of Titans Tower with the scale in his hand.

"What'd you find?" Wally asked as he darted in front of him.

"It's a scale"

"Let me see" Wally snatched the scale and observed it under the waning sunlight. Garth rolled his eyes and walked towards the tower entrance.

"Woah this is huge!"

"Makes you think that the stuff we heard about a dragon were real."

"What? No way!"

"Way"

"I'm gonna show B" Impulse ran off to show Bumble Bee, who was sitting in the Titans command center. Garth looked up at the setting sun. The Titans had been missing for the past two days. Batman, , Etrigan, Zatana and Zachary Zatara investigated the cult that had risen the demon while the Titans East searched for signs of the Titans West. The T tower was being rebuilt by Tram and Red Tornado who waved at Garth as he entered the tower.

Wally zipped back "Hurry Up!"

Garth sighed and chased after Wally. When he reached Titans control center he could already hear Bee's voice.

"What do you mean a dragon?"

"Don't look at me like that. Ask Garth"

Garth let out a little sigh. Magic alway threw his team members, there were a few Titans that knew about magic but most were skeptical and inexperienced. He could only think of a few members besides himself that could use or understand magic. Raven was obviously at the top of that list, then Jinx, Argent and finally Zatana's cousin Zachary Zatara.

"Dragons, like sea monsters are real. But they were thought to be extinct."

"Well why was a dragon here?"

"Probably to eat the demon."

The team gave Garth identical flabbergasted looks. He let out a sigh and began to explain the various stages of demonic possession and dragon consumption.

"This is just too freaky for me" Bee said with a tired sigh. She pulled out her communicator and called the Justice League. Batman's stern face filled the screen.

"What did you find?"

"Oh he's gonna love this." Red Arrow mumbled.

~.~.~.~.~.~.)O(~.~.~.~.~.~.

Malchior sat in front of the town hall and did his best to ignore Krona's prattling. Half of the towns Council members and representatives were sitting before him demanding answers while the other half had yet to arrive. Ha managed to ignore them but Krona was another matter entirely. In between her mindless chatter about manes, hunts and pride gossip she occasionally dropped a few tidbits about the councilors. Some of these rare comments put the audience on edge and Malchior had to force himself from laughing outright. Krona was revealing state secrets and councilors sordid affairs as if it were just the mornings gossip. It was an old game they used to play to put self important people on edge. Krona would prattle on about useless things while Malchior did his damned best to ignore her. She would drop a few interesting nuggets of information to keep him interested and put anyone listening on edge. He waited while the rest of the Council members took a seat before him. Malchior took in a deep breath to address the gathered Council member and representatives when Krona gave him an exaggerated pleading look.

"Can I?"

Malchior shrugged his shoulder. Krona liked being the center of attention better yet she was good at handling people. If she wanted to address the Councilors he'd be more than happy to hand off the burden.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, humans and fey, lend me your ears. For the past eight centuries you have all strayed from rules set forth by the dragon Malchior who graciously allowed most of your ancestors to remain in his abode." Krona motioned with a flourish to a rather bored looking Malchior. He sipped his wine to cover his smile, Krona always had a great flair for the dramatic.

"In his absence you have allowed greed and hatred to rule this nation when he expressly forbade any violence betrween two factions. You have been encroaching on centaur and the wilds lands beyond your means. You have subjugated the halflings for centuries and instituted a corrupt system of economy that favors the haves of the have nots. This all ends now! The Red Robes in the village square have been burned by Dragon's fire, similar punishments will be dealt out to any Red Robes that do not turn themselves over immediately. The Council will be formatted based on elected officials who represent their region. Human fae and halfling regions will be represented equally. All schools will become integrated. Any aggression with centaurs will stop immediately. Elected officials will be vetted and approved by a hand selected committee. If you do not comply death is a very likely possibility. Any questions?"

A fat bald man clad in silk with a reddened face stood up.  
"You can't honestly believe that we will abide by these ridiculous conditions?!"

Malchior raised a questioning eyebrow and Krona smiled pleasantly.

"Councilor Siadhe, he uses child labor in his tannery and silk shop, he beats the ones that don't work fast enough or take a rest. Sometimes the beatings get out of hand and the child dies. I believe an instance of that happened last week when one of the children left work to buy his sister a doll."

Malchior sighed and flicked his wrist. When Siadhe caught fire the surrounding Councilors ran from their seats. Krona smiled serenely while Malchior sipped his glass of wine. Siadhe's cries of pain echoed across the room.

"I guess that ends the questions. You will all turn over your council rings and there will be an election held in two days. The Pride will come to keep the peace and Malchior's basilisk will be watching closely to make sure that no votes are coerced and I am going to take a nap."

Malchior rose from his seat and stared down at the remaining councilors.

"You have all stained my home with greed and blood. I will do everything in my power to burn the filth from my presence." His eyes took on a red hue and he walked past them with Krona in tow.

"The sun fish are starting to doze off." Krona said absently as the crowd started to part. Malchior looked up and noticed the Sun fish lights go out while the Lunar fish swam out from their homes.

"Thank you for the help. I do hate public orations."

"Nonsense, I love the attention."

Malchior chuckled, there was no arguing with that point. Upon exiting the town Krona and Malchior transformed into their beastial forms and went their separate paths. Upon exiting the town Krona a Malchior transformed into their beastial forms and went their separate paths. As Malchior flew over lands his lands his mind drifted to a pair of amethyst eyes set above porcelain skin.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.)O(~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Raven sat in bed reading an old grimoire that she found in Malchior's study. She was wearing a white sleeping gown that had been left on her bed by one of the unseen servants that seemed to clean up after her and her friends. A basilisk, who was currently in the form of a panther, slept at the foot of the bed while another slept on her shoulder as a miniature version of Malchior. There were initially twelve basilisks roosting in various spots around the room but Raven managed to shoo away most of them. These last two basilisks to budge and were even doing their own version of a cuddle.

Both Basilisks were purring with sleepy contentment. The simultaneous purring and warmth emanating from their bodies was making her eyelids droop. Raven gave up her futile attempt to read the grimoire and set the book down. As she drifted to sleep she thought she saw a shadow pass by her doorway.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.)O(~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Malchior stood in the doorway and watched Raven as she slept. He had just returned from his hunt and left a dead cow in a field for the basilisks to feast on. He watched Raven as she slept with two basilisks curled against her.

"You want to tell me why you're watching my friend?" Nightwing said as he stood in the hallways with crossed arms.

"Do I need a reason to watch a beautiful woman sleep in my home?"

"Thats not an answer."

"It's the only answer you'll get."

Malchior ignored the boys petulant glares and continued to watch Raven as she rolled over in her sleep and hugged the Panther.

"When are you going to let us leave?"

"If you so desperately want to leave be my guest. Good luck with the underwater volcanoes and the giant squid, not to mention the crushing pressure that come from being in the deepest depths of the ocean"

"Then we really are your prisoners."

"The only thing you're a prisoner of is your gripping paranoia. When Raven has fully regained her powers you and all your friends can leave my home. I've been nothing but a gracious host but even my patience has its limits. I insist that you cease your baseless accusations and go to bed. There should be clean clothes in your room."

"When do you think she'll be at full strength?"

Malchior walked into the room and lay his hand against Raven's forehead, she drew her face closer to the warmth of his hand and mumbled sweet incoherent nothings. Malchior forgot for a moment about the annoyance in the doorway when he saw a small contented smile play across her luminous face.

"Well?"

Malchior let out a small sigh.

"Her power is only half of what it should be." he said softly as he drew the covers up to her chin.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gemstone that he lay under her pillow.

"What was that?"

"Something to help her 'recharge'. Like the gems on her belt they absorb magical energy and release it when the user needs it. I put it under her pillow so she could absorb it in her sleep."

Malchior walked out of Ravens room and shut the door as quietly as possible.

"Goodnight."

Malchior started to walk away when he felt Nightwing roughly grab his wrist.

"Just what are you plotting."

Malchior's eyes took on a red hue as he glared at Richard.

"Get your hands off me you ridiculous child."  
"Or what? You can't hurt me, remember."

"But they can." Malchior said with a self satisfied smirk.

Richard turned around and came face to face with three very large and very angry Dire wolves.

"I have not ordered them to do anything but believe when I say this. My pets do not like anyone threatening me. Now I suggest you release me before they sound the alarm."

Nightwing glared at him and reluctantly let him go. "This isn't over."

"In my opinion it never began."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.)O(~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

(Don't forget to subscribe, favorite and review!)

So I really need a beta. Keep on loosing contact with them. On a side note I notice that some people are confused by the shape shifting characteristics of the Basilisks in this story. In Mythology the Basilisk is known as the King of serpents whose so poisonous that its very gaze can kill or turn a man into stone. It some other myths and legends it is also known as a shapeshifter. The only way to kill a basilisk is to hold up a mirror to it so that it may look upon its own deadly gaze. I got the shape shifting from a book that I got for my little brother when he was going through his dragon stage. There was a section on Basilisks and it cited that they had shapeshifting abilities. I think it was called dragonology. And the sun fish are a creation of my own head.


	18. Smoked Horses and Goodbyes

_Message to the Readers: I'd like to thank my beta Sachmis for catching all the mistakes that I made and being such a great beta. I have never had a beta who highlighted their changes and created a legend. Honestly she is amazing and I feel so blessed to have such and amazing beta. On another note review, subscribe and favorite. I don't own the Teen Titans or any of their characters. _

**Paper to Flesh**

**Chapter 18**

_**Smoked Horses and Goodbyes**_

Raven woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon. The panther sleeping at the foot of her bed had turned into a black Dire Wolf, and the black dragon on her shoulder had turned red. Raven stretched and let out a little yawn. The basilisks shifted to let Raven out of bed, she stroked them both on their head and got up. She arched her back as far back as she could and felt a long series of cracks. She felt refreshed and energetic she started to crack the rest of her joints when she noticed something glint in the sunlight between her sheets. She smoothed out one of the sheets to reveal an enchanted soul gem.

"Malchior..."

"You called?" Said a low voice.

Raven turned around and saw Malchior leaning against the door frame.

"I assume this is yours," she said, holding up the soul gem.

"I thought that it would help with your recuperation. Your petulant friend thought that it was some nefarious device."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"He's so paranoid that he thinks kittens are suspicious."

Malchior chuckled and strode forward, Raven forced herself to stand absolutely still as Malchior stroked her cheek and gauged her power level.

"Well I think that all you need is a large breakfast and you'll be set to go."

"I don't really _do_ breakfast."

"I just killed a pig for your friend. You'll do breakfast and like it."

Raven looked up at him while he rubbed his temples and let out a long heavy sight.

"Beast boy and Cyborg fighting about meat again?"

"Your friends are insufferably frustrating." Malchior said in a strained apologetic voice.

"I guess I had better do as you ask."

Malchior turned towards Raven with a slight pleading look on his face. Her friends were most definitely taking their toll on his patience. "Please."

Raven smiled and walked with Malchior down to the dining room.

"Hey Raven!" Cyborg called out to her as he held a plate overflowing with bacon.

"It's not waffles, but you do like bacon, right?"

"More than life itself..." Raven deadpanned.

Cyborg smiled while Beast Boy pouted in the corner with a bowl of fruit. Alex was munching happily on some bacon while Kori made a smiley face with her bacon and Richard looked up from his seat with a barely concealed glare and tore into his meal.

Malchior pulled out a seat for Raven then sat next to her.

"Before you berate me with your incessant questions, Raven is at full power. She just needs a good meal to keep her energy up."

Richard was about to say something when Victor and Kori put their hands on his shoulders and smiled at Malchior.

"Thank you, friend Malchior, for your hospitality and kindness."

"Yeah, what Star said. You were a big help in finding the kid and you even brought home the bacon...literally." chuckled Cyborg.

"And you had all that fruit I got to eat." Garfield said as he happily munched on an apple slice.

"There are no thanks necessary. I was simply fulfilling my duties as a host. On a side note, we have a rather serious matter to discuss. Garfield? Could you please take Alex outside for a few minutes? I think Elation is waiting for Alex to pet him."

Alex's face lit up with joy at the mention of the hawk. "Elation!" then he ran out, with BB in tow.

"Why did you send them out?" Richard asked, with a suspicious glare.

"Alex and the changeling seem to get along well enough, and this concerns the boy. I believe that his family died on that day, and from what I know of your foster care system, I think It would be wise to leave the boy here until a relative is found. As soon as a suitable caretaker is found, Raven could return to turn the boy over to his family."

"You're kidding! He needs extensive therapy! And besides, do you really think I'd trust you with a child?"

Raven saw Malchior's face contort into an expression of pure rage as he sat rooted in his seat. His eyes turned red and his canines elongated while more scales bloomed along his temples.

"You dare imply that I would harm a child in my care?"

Raven silently prayed that Richard would apologize and the issue would be put to rest but 'Bird Brain' was too stubborn to back down.

"I'm not implying, I'm telling you outright that I don't trust you with a child's welfare!"

Malchior remained very still and reminded Raven of a snake waiting for the perfect time to strike. Kori was about to apologize for Richard when Malchior grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him down the hall kicking and screaming towards his study. Raven and her friends sat in shock, they hadn't even seen Malchior move from his seat.

"I think we should follow them," Cyborg said with mild confusion.

They all rose and followed Malchior towards his study. Cyborg made sure to bring his giant plate of bacon.

"Crispy, soft, or burnt?"

"Um, soft and crispy," answered Raven.

"Friend Cyborg, I would like the burnt."

They absent mindedly chewed on their snack as Malchior yelled at Richard.

"All those women and children were my wards! I rescued them from abusive homes, slavery, the _gallows_! And you're telling me that I don't know how to handle a damaged child? Or that I would ever intentionally harm a child?!"

"By saying 'intentionally,' you're implying that you _have_ harmed a child."

"Yes, I have. Rose," he said motioning to a portrait of a red-headed girl with kittens on her lap. "I allowed her to ride on my shoulders when she was six and she hit her head on a low branch. That was the only time. These girls and boys weren't just my wards they were my children. I raised them, nurtured them when they were sick, played with them and taught them all to read. So don't you dare tell me that I can't take care of a child!"

Richard was about to say something else when Raven cut in.

"That's enough Richard. Malchior is right, and don't start glaring at me or throwing accusations at me. Alex wants to stay here. When we talked about going to the surface Alex was practically petrified with fear. He feels safe here with Malchior. _And_, need I remind you, that Malchior couldn't hurt him even if he wanted to."

"It is better for the kid to stay here where he knows someone instead of going to a foster home. Besides, it's only temporary." Victor said as he waved a slice of bacon around to emphasize his remark.

"If Alex feels safe with friend Malchior, then why _not _leave him?"

Richard grew red in the face, stood up, and marched away.

"Get your things together, we're leaving in thirty."

Kori flashed Malchior and Raven an apologetic look and flew after him.

Raven rolled her eyes and chewed on her fourth strip of bacon. Malchior joined her and chewed on his own strip.

"If another issue with demons occur, please don't hesitate to contact me."

"I can handle it."

"I have no doubt that you are capable, but my presence would be advantageous to the both of us. I could feed and my presence would discourage any of your fathers minions from rearing their heads."

"... I'll think about it."

"Please do."

Malchior grabbed a few more strips and walked over to his study. Raven thought about following him for a moment but thought that it was a better idea to gather her things instead.

Malchior sat in his study trying to get his heart rate down, Raven's idiotic friend was frustrating him to no end. One of his basilisks was perched on his desk in the form of a small griffin, she turned towards him and let out a little screech, then flew away. Malchior took in a deep breath of air and let out a billow of smoke that obscured his vision. The smoke congealed into the form of a horse, the smokey horse stood there for a moment pawing the air in front of him. The horse shook his mane out and divided into a herd of smaller horses that galloped around Malchioir's office. Malchior billowed out more smoke from his slightly parted lips, and another group of smoke formed horses joined his earlier creations in a run around the room. Malchior sat there watching his creations and felt a sense of peace fall over his troubled mind. He tilted his head back in his chair and let out a sigh. His smoke formed creations ran out the window and dissipated one by one as each exited his home. Malchior was once again at peace with the world and his thoughts.

"That was amazing."

Malchior lazily turned his head to look upon Cyborg who stood in the doorway with open eyed wonder.

"Horses have always been my favorite creatures. Even though they are land bound, when you see a horse run free in the fields they can always inspire a sense of wonder. It's like at any moment they will sprout wings and be swept up into the sky by a strong gust of wind."

"I'd never seen that before this moment, but I guess I do now."

"Was there something you needed?"

"Yeah,um." Cyborg brought his hand up and scratched absently at the back of his head. Malchior motioned for Cyborg to take a seat a very comfortable chair materialized in front of his desk and Cyborg cautiously took his seat.

"Thanks."

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Cyborg?"

"Please, Victor, or Vic. You already know all of our aliases. Raven says that you spent your time in the book learning about everyone's secrets."

"I didn't just spend my time in that book twiddling my thumbs. I was connected to any and all written words, and yes I picked up some things about you and your friends. I don't have any desire to reveal your secrets to the public if that is what you're worried about."

"No, I'm not worried about that, I don't exactly hide my face. Richard might be concerned, but I think we can trust you with those secrets."

"Thank you for your trust."

"I can generally get a good read on people. You seem like a nice enough guy and you've been upfront with us this entire time. I just needed to ask you about something."

Malchior leaned back in his chair and motioned for Victor to continue.

"I'm worried about Raven. Now, I don't know anything about this magic business or betrothal and demon politics but I care about her, we all do. We're not just a team we're family. Our 'real' families are pretty fu- I mean screwed up. Kori has her evil sister, Garfield has issues with his previous surrogate family, Richard saw his parent die right in front of him and I don't even want to get started on my dad. We're all castoffs and orphans so we have no choice but to cherish the friendships that we do make. Raven is like a sister to me, I can goof off with Garfield anytime I want but when I want to talk about the heavy stuff I go to Raven. She doesn't open up much to other people but she always listens and understands."

Malchior nodded in agreement and allowed Victor to continue.

"This business about _Demon-Lord-Fiances_ scares me. Every time her father messes with Raven a lot of people end up hurt or dead. We don't know how many demons we might be dealing with and I honestly hate that I can't protect Raven from everything. If we were dealing with killer robots I could do something about it, but we're not. There are a few Titans who know about magic and demons, but none who actually live with us on a permanent basis or who have the power to scare an uber-demon. My point is that you _do_."

Malchior raised an eyebrow.

"What I'm asking is that you keep an eye on her and the situation. I know Richard is going to want to keep you as far away as possible, but if you eat demons, I think it would be good to have you around."

"What _precisely_ are you asking of me?"

"Could you do something to stop these demons from showing up?"

"They will surface to mark their claim...but there may be something that I can do. Your friends won't like it."

"What is it?"

"If I mark Raven as my mate and the tower as my land the suitors will keep their distance. My mark and presence will discourage them from making any aggressive advances."

"Will that work?"

"Short of keeping her here in my domain I see no other alternative."

"Then do it, mark the tower and Raven. I want her to be safe."

"You forget that Raven isn't exactly on the best terms with me."

"Raven doesn't have to know."

Malchior remained silent for a few moments. Then he rose and rifled through some drawers. He pulled out three objects and handed two of them to Victor.

"The black stone is a set of two, I'll keep the other. It is the only way for you to contact me. If and _when_ one of these suitors appear, blow on this stone and call upon me. The pendant is for Raven, place it under her pillow or mattress if you wish to keep this a secret, but I suggest that you tell her about your concerns. The pendant works best if she is wearing it but will still work if she sleeps in its presence at night."

"That would be great, whatever you can do to keep Rae safe would really be appreciated."

Malchior nodded and shook Victors hand.

"Thank you for your trust in me."

Victor smiled, "We don't all suffer from crippling paranoia."

Malchior let out a laugh,

"Thank the divines for that."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~)O(~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Raven stood in the entrance hall of Malchior's home with her friends, all of whom were thanking Malchior for his help and hospitality. Richard brooded in a corner while everyone else graciously thanked their host. Malchior allowed himself to be hugged by Kori, be awkwardly high-fived by Garfield and have his back slapped by Victor. Malchior was smiling at something that Victor said when his gaze met Raven's. Malchior took a deep bow and Raven responded by giving him a nod of her head. When the team was finished with their goodbyes, and Richard had told Garfield that he could not take a basilisk home with him, they gathered around Raven. The last sight they saw was Alex riding on Malchior's shoulders waving goodbye with a large grin on his face.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and a not too hectic Black Friday. The holidays are coming up and I have to admit that I've been listening to christmas music since halloween ended. I don't know If I'll have a tree this year (money problems I mentioned in previous chapters.) but my neighbors decorated their window so beautifully that I may not even need it. Some days while I'm drinking my tea or warm milk I just sit and stare at my neighbor's window with the goofiest smile on my face...Now that I'm thinking about this...thats kinda creepy. Right? crap. I really do need my own decorations. Happy Holidays everybody. Please review, subscribe and favorite.


	19. Homecomings and Breakins

**Authors Note: **_So I understand that I'm introducing a lot of characters that may be unknown to you. I read the TT comics, watch a lot of dc movies and read a lot on the comic-vine. I even wrote a 25 page article on the jewish influence in comic book medium and comic book reflection of american social, and political environment. So there may be a few references you don't understand or names that you don't know. I'm going to try and clear it up in the authors notes._

_**Nightwing:**__ Richard Grayson or Dick_

_**Red Hood:**__ Jason Todd (In my stories he's always going to be Red X.)_

_**Aqualad:**__ Garth, in the comic books when he leaves the moniker Aqualad behind he adopts the name Tempest. Garth is actually royalty and much like Aquaman his throne was taken from him in a complicated storyline that I really don't want to get into._

_**Red Arrow:**__ Speedy, later known as Arsenal. His real name is Roy Harper_

_**Kid Flash:**__ I may just have him take the name impulse_

_**Beast Boy:**__ is kind of in between names. But Malchior will help him with that._

_**Cyborg:**__ Victor Stone_

_**Star Fire:**__ Koriand'r or Kori for short ( I probably massacred the spelling.)_

_**Zachary Zatara:**__ Is the cousin of Zatanna and a famous magician. He helps the Titans on the league in various issues but really doesn't get along with anyone but his stage assistant Bunny and his romantic interest Raven._

_**Zatanna:**__ In the original Teen Titans Raven approached the league for help in prevent her father's ascension but Zatanna was against helping her since she sensed Ravens demonic heritage and told the league not to trust her. Raven was forced to look for help with the Titans._

_**Dr. Fate:**__ the helmet changes hands but Dr. Fate doesn't_

**Paper to Flesh**

**Chapter 19.**

**Homecoming and Break Ins**

Garth sat atop the 'T' tower and stared out at the setting sun. Batman and Zatara had recently returned from investigating the cult to help with the search for Titans West. Etrigan had stayed behind with the Dr. Fate to sort through the mess the demon had left at the cult headquarters. Garth had decided that the team needed a break, he insisted that Bee and the guys go to sleep. They had been reading through Raven's tomes and Nightwing's files for hours on end. The only time they stopped was when the tower alarm went off to alert them of a crime in progress. Working for twenty hours straight was beginning to take a toll on the team and he didn't want to have Bee run the team ragged like Nightwing often had the tendency to do.

"I thought everyone had gone to sleep." said a voice behind him. Garth turned around and saw Zachary Zatara standing behind him staring at the sunset. Zachary was Zatanna's younger cousin who was well versed in magic and had his own magic show in Vegas and Tokyo. His power was having magical influence over all inanimate objects, unlike Zatanna and her father he couldn't directly affect humans or animals, yet. His other power was the innate ability to annoy anyone he came in contact with.

"I thought you were helping Dr. Fate." Garth said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I was visiting a few shops to see if they had any information about dragons."

Garth was suddenly interested. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes and No. The shops didn't have any new information, just conjecture and there was little mention of this specific dragon. But when I was leaving the shop I was visited by a very interesting fellow who walks on the wrong side of the law." Zachary leaned forward with a self satisfied smirk that vexed Garth for some reason. Raven seemed to be the only one who could handle Zachary and get him to act like something other than a self absorbed prick.

"Well aren't you going to ask who?"

Garth was really in no mood for Zach's games but he knew it was the only way to get him to move on with his story.

"Who did you meet?" Garth said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger in annoyance.

Zachary grinned and continued with his tale.

"Red X was asking for Raven. When he figured out that we didn't know where she was he told me that he knew that she was still alive."

"And how would he know that?"

"Apparently the mirror in her room in still active. You need to tell your team to stay away from her room. She has more magical and cursed items than my cousin."

"That's the first thing I did, I only let them go through the tomes and historical books to see in there was any clue about where she may have teleported the team."

"Smart move, on a side not the press is outside... again."

Garth let out a long sight that only made Zachary chuckle."Those vultures never go away for long." Garth grumbled as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"I could turn their camera's into hot pockets." Zachary said with a mischievous grin.

"No, we'd get in trouble for messing with their private property. Just leave them alone, Batman will probably just glare them into Oblivion."

"And he says he doesn't have any superpowers." Zachary said with a broad grin

Garth laughed and stood up from his seat.

"Thanks for the help Zachary. I know how you clash a lot with Bee and Nightwing but you are really helpful with magic issues."

Zachary's grin fell off his face and he suddenly became serious. "Of course I'm going to help. There is no way I'm going to let my friend disappear without trying to find her."

"You say that like Raven is the only one you care about getting back."

Zachary shrugged his shoulders and started to say something but stopped, his eyes widened in surprise. Garth turned to see what it was that caught Zachary's attention, his eyes widened at the sight of a dark portal opening above him. It took the form of Ravens soul scream and Garth felt a surge of happiness in his chest and a smile spread across his face.

The male members of Titans West dropped unceremoniously to the ground while Kori and Raven floated gracefully down.

"Finally we're home!" Nightwing exclaimed with relief.

Before Garth could greet the Titans West Zachary was there hugging Raven. Garth felt more than a tad bit annoyed, but he ignored that and helped Garfield up.

"Aqualad where is the rest of the team?" Nightwing demanded

"It's Tempest now," Garth said with mild annoyance in his voice. "And they are all sleeping. We've been looking for you guys everywhere and the league sent their magic experts to investigate the cult and your disappearance."

"What did you find?" Cyborg asked as he stuck something into one of his storage compartments.

"It was a level five demon, Maybe six. Powerful enough to do major damage but not powerful enough not keep its vessel from falling apart or plotting something apocalyptic." Zachary said as he played with Raven's hair.

"Batman, Etrigan, Dr. Fate and Zatanna are downstairs reviewing their findings and eating. He'll want to see you Nightwing." Garth said with a suppressed smirk, Raven had just pinched Zachary to get him to stop playing with her hair.

Nightwing nodded and the rest of the team started heading downstairs. Raven opened a portal on the ground and descended into her dark portal. Garth looked down at the space where Raven once was. She had probably gone to her room to avoid playing twenty questions with Zatanna and Batman.

Garth was once again alone on the roof of the T tower. The sun had disappeared behind the water's edge, he could already hear Victor and Garfield start their never ending argument on food choices. Right when he decided to follow he noticed a hooded figure slip into Ravens window.

Raven was a enjoying a long hot shower, Malchior's manor had washrooms and large old bathtubs but no showers, her time in his land had left the young empath longing for modern day plumbing. At the moment Raven could think of nothing better than a long hot shower with french jazz playing in the background, apple cinnamon candles burning and the shower head set to massage. Truth be told she didn't need to shower, she had bathed three hours ago at Malchior's manor, but a shower seemed like a good enough way to avoid Richard and most of all Zatanna.

Raven sighed and turned around to let the water hit her back. Zatanna was not Ravens favorite person and Raven was definitely not Zatanna's favorite person. Zatanna always managed to approach Raven with suspicion and prejudice. When they first met Zatanna had automatically called Raven out on her demonic heritage and had to be convinced not to attack her. When Zachary started to spend more time with Raven Zatanna treated Raven with even more suspicion than ever. Zatanna probably assumed that Raven was using her feminine demonic wiles to attract Zachary and turn him into a dark sorcerer.

The truth was that Raven never encouraged the friendship between herself and Zachary. Zachary was a good magician and an excellent showman, but he was arrogant and cocky. She didn't understand why he remained his annoyingly arrogant self in front of the other Titans, even the Justice League, but in private he opened up. He had said once that he felt no need to put on a show for her.

"With Zatanna I have to prove myself as a showman, with Fate I have to prove myself as a mage, and with the Titans I have to get along with everyone and be a goody to-shoes hero. You don't push your expectations on anyone. To you people are just people, you don't romanticize or pressure, you just accept everything."

Raven frowned as she mulled over what Zachary had told her nearly a year ago. She didn't know if it was true she just knew that Zachary was a friend. He annoyed her most of the time but he was still a friend.

Raven tuned off her shower head and reached out for towel. She towel dried her hair for a few moments then wrapped the towel around her body and stepped out of the shower. When she drew the curtain back there was a man leaning against the bathroom door glaring at her with crystalline blue eyes through white hair, the lower half of his face was obscured by a scarf.

"Where is the book?"

For a moment Raven felt a surge of fear that any rational woman would experience upon finding a strange man in her bathroom, that fear went away as soon as she used her powers to fling said man out her double pane glass window. Raven ran out the bathroom into her bedroom, she was going to use the communicator to call her team when she was flung by a mystic force into a bookcase.

"Demon spawn!" The man said with an accusatory glare.

Raven clutched her towel to her chest and used her powers to tangle his feet with her curtains, if he took a step towards her he would fall flat on his face.

"Where is the book demon spawn?"

"You want a book? Have them all!"

Raven's eyes glowed with the use of her powers and directed all her books in the room at his head. At that moment Garth burst through her doors with Zachary and Red Arrow not far behind.

"Stand down Atlantean, this is between me and the demoness." The intruder stepped forward and tripped on Ravens curtains. Roy let out a laugh and the sorcerer glared at him from his spot on the floor.

"_Rouk Emlick Noam_" a blast from the sorcerers hands landed on Roy and knocked him back into the hallway. He turned his attention back onto Raven who used her powers to throw her dresser directly at his head. Garth jumped in front of Raven and and summoned his powers, the pipes burst through Raven's floor and ceiling flooding the room. Garth used the water to form a barrier to protect himself and Raven from the sorcerers incoming attacks.

"_Eb won dnuob yb latem._" Zachary yelled. Ravens curtains turned into chains and wrapped themselves around the sorcerer. The white haired intruder opened his mouth to speak but his head was enveloped by a ball of water summoned by Garth.

Roy was back in the doorway.

"When I say now move the water ball." Roy said as he picked up is bow from the ground.

Garth nodded from his position over Raven, Zachary noticed Raven clutching he towel to her chest.

"_Sserdnus_."

Ravens towel turned into a white sundress and she shot Zachary a look.

"A sundress... really."

Zachary smiled. "Never seen you in one. It looks good."

Raven scoffed and watched as the white haired sorcerer began to pass out from lack of air in the water bubble.

"I love this channel." Zachary said said with a mischievous grin.

"Now!" Roy yelled with an arrow primed in his bow. Garth removed his water bubble and Roy shot his arrow. The arrow pierced the sorcerers shoulder and sent a wave of electricity throughout his body. The sorcerer collapsed on the floor with a grunt.

"Best arrow ever. Gave him a charge and injected him with a horse tranquilizer." Roy said as he kicked the intruder onto his back.

"Who is he Garth asked as he helped Raven up while Zachary put the pipes back into place and fixed her room.

"I don't know." Raven said as Garth picked her up so she wouldn't cut herself on the broken glass. "He was in my bathroom when I got out of the shower. He asked about a book and called me a demoness."

"Whatever happened to knocking on the door? Zachary muttered as he used the broken shards of glass to fix the window.

"He couldn't go to a library or Barnes and Nobles." Roy said as he tightened the prisoners binds while Garth set Raven down on a clean part of the floor.

"You know I can fly." Raven said turning her attention towards Garth, he stared at her for a moment then turned towards Roy.

"You find out who he is yet?"

Roy shook his head and started unraveling the wet scarf from the intruders face.

"Could he have been asking for Malchior's book? Zachary asked as he picked up wet books from the floor and repaired them before putting them in their place.

"The thought has occurred to me, but I have so many old books and tomes that I don't want to make any assumptions until I know for sure what he wants."

Garth nodded in agreement as Roy propped up the intruder and lifted his chin so the rest of the Titans present could see his face."

"Uh, I don't know who that is. Recognize that mug Rae?"

Raven leaned forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned in and got a closer look at the intruder. He was unquestionably handsome, with a strong jawline, high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose set above soft lips. She knew that his eyes were a shade of icy blue that when coupled with his snow white hair made him inhumanely handsome.

"I think that this might be Rorek. The mage that trapped Malchior in the book over a thousand years ago."

"Looks good for his age." Roy said as he let Rorek drop face first in the ground. Raven cringed when she heard Rorek's face hit the ground with a loud thud, she was pretty sure he damaged his nose. She managed to resist the urge to nag Roy for being rough with the prisoner and instead flipped Rorek on his back.

"Put him in a chair, I don't know how long my tranquilizer will work on a thousand year old magician."

"He's not a magician, he's a sorcerer." Zachary said from corner of the room where he was repairing the floor.

"What's the difference?"

"Magicians are showmen."

Raven rolled her eyes and used her powers to place Rorek in an upright position on an armchair, Zachary used his powers to tie Rorek to the chair with chains while Raven set a rune on the ground to prevent Rorek from using his magic on them when he woke up.

"What is going on here?"

Raven and the others turned around to see Nightwing in the doorway with Batman and Dr. Fate. Raven sat down on the bed and massaged her temples with the slight hope that her headache would go away while Roy grabbed Rorek by the hair and lifted his head up. "Pretty boy here broke in and tried to hurt our little bird when she was in the shower."

"Who is he? Batman asked

"Raven thinks he might be Rorek, the sorcerer who trapped Malchior in the book." Garth said as he sat down next to Raven and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder."He asked for the book then attacked her. I saw him go in through her window from the roof and grabbed Zatara and Roy to help."

"He looks good for his age." Batman commented.

"That's what I said." Roy exclaimed

Everyone in the room ignored Roy's comment and turned their attention back in the sorcerer tied up in the middle of the room.

"What so you think he wanted the book for?" Nightwing asked to no one in particular

"He probably wanted to trap Malchior in the book again." Dr. Fate said as he examined one of Raven's books that had fallen in the hallway.

"Can he do that?" Nightwing asked with obvious interest.

"I would not recommend it." Dr. Fate said with some disdain in his voice.

"Why not? With Rorek's help we can lock Malchior up in the book again and keep him from causing any trouble."

"Then you will forfeit Raven's life." Fate said as he put the book he had picked up away.

Nightwing looked at him in surprise and Dr. Fate turned his attention towards Raven who looked up at him with a blank disinterested look in her eyes. "You entered a blood bond with him. If we trap him without provocation; Raven's life is forfeit."

Garth put his hands on Raven's shoulder and glared at Nightwing.

"So we leave Malchior alone"

Nightwing glared back at Garth. "He tried to -"

"Eat me. Yes, we know, but he hasn't tried anything suspicious. If he tries to harm any innocents; he dies. So that means there's no reason to worry, or to put him back in the book. The blood oath is binding and we both worded it so there would be no loopholes."

Nightwing was about to start arguing when Batman placed his hand on his protégé's shoulder and glanced at Raven. "You're handling this?"

"No," Raven said as she looked up at him, "It's already been handled."

Batman looked at Fate who nodded.

"We'll leave it in your hands then. Nightwing stay out of this, magic isn't out element and Raven's competent enough to handle it. If she needs help she'll ask for it. Fate will keep his eye on the situation" Nightwing sighed and walked out of Ravens room with Batman and Dr. Fate.

"When Batman tells you to lighten up, it's time for a vacation." Roy muttered. Everyone in the room, with the exception of the unconscious prisoner nodded in agreement.

_**Don't forget to fave and review. I wrote about three pages for the next chapter before I realized that I hated it so the next chapter may take a while. Lotsa thanks to Sachmis for her amazing beta skills.**_

6


	20. Water boarding William Hung

**Author's Note: **_So I understand that I'm introducing a lot of characters that may be unknown to you. I read the TT comics, watch a lot of DC movies and read a lot on the comic-vine. I even wrote a 25 page article on the jewish influence in comic book medium and comic book reflection of American social, and political environment. So there may be a few references you don't understand or names that you don't know. I'm going to try and clear it up in the author's notes. On another note, my boyfriend's laptop crapped out on me and I can't seem to find a job, so my updates will be fewer and farther apart. To use the computers at the library I have to reserve them in advance, only for 45 minutes, the internet is slow, I can only use it once a day, and I need to look for a job. I'm still writing, I'm just technologically starved._

_**Nightwing:**__ Richard Grayson or Dick_

_**Red Hood:**__ Jason Todd (In my stories he's always going to be Red X.)_

_**Aqualad:**__ Garth, in the comic books when he leaves the moniker Aqualad behind he adopts the name Tempest. Garth is actually royalty and much like Aquaman his throne was taken from him in a complicated storyline that I really don't want to get into._

_**Red Arrow:**__ Speedy, later known as Arsenal. His real name is Roy Harper._

_**Kid Flash:**__ I may just have him take the name Impulse._

_**Beast Boy:**__ is kind of in between names. But Malchior will help him with that._

_**Cyborg:**__ Victor Stone_

_**Star Fire:**__ Koriand'r or Kori for short (I probably massacred the spelling.)_

_**Zachary Zatara:**__ Is the cousin of Zatanna and a famous magician. He helps the Titans on the league in various issues but really doesn't get along with anyone but his stage assistant Bunny and his romantic interest Raven._

_**Zatanna:**__ In the original Teen Titans Raven approached the league for help in prevent her father's ascension but Zatanna was against helping her since she sensed Ravens demonic heritage and told the league not to trust her. Raven was forced to look for help with the Titans._

_**Dr. Fate:**__ the helmet changes hands but Dr. Fate doesn't._

**_Mera: _**_Is the wife of Aquaman and the queen of Atlantis_

Paper to Flesh

Chapter 20

Water-boarding William Hung

Raven stood in front of her dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans with a black v-neck t-shirt. The sundress Zachary summoned was comfortable but not exactly the best choice of clothing when it comes to an interrogation. Rorek was still unconscious and chained up in an interrogation room with Garth and Red Arrow guarding the door. Zachary was placing several wards around the tower while Raven went up to her room to change clothes and grab a null orb.

A null orb held the soul or spiritual power of a null. Nulls were humans with the unique and rare ability to negate any and all magic with little to no effort. Null orbs and bombs were outlawed by the magical conclave because many Nulls were being killed or kidnapped in order to make bombs and orbs. This did not stop criminal organizations from trying to find and kill nulls for their powers. Most nulls were under the protection of covens or circles. The null orb Raven held was recovered from a warehouse owned by a cult worshipping her uncle Beleth in Russia.

Raven hugged the null orb to her chest and finally allowed herself to feel for the first time that day. She crumpled onto the floor and took in a few gasps of air. It was all becoming too much. The demon wreaking havoc in Jump City, Malchior's return, Richard's attitude, Rorek's attack, but most disturbing of all was the sense of dread that had been haunting her since she discovered her father had promised her to another demon lord. Malchior telling her that she had no other choice but to take on an immortal lover just made matters worse. Raven hugged the orb tighter and cried, no lights burst, no shadows took form, the orb allowed her to feel without worrying about her powers. Raven rocked back and forward letting out the occasional choked sob.

"It's too much," she mumbled. "It's too much."

Raven rocked herself a bit longer, wiped her eyes and got up. Raven didn't like to use the orb because she felt that eventually she would become dependant on it. So when things were getting too difficult and Raven could feel her control start to fray, she brought out the orb.

Ravens fingertips traced the runes on the orb and she smiled a little. There was something refreshing about letting go of her control, letting herself feel strongly about something. She so rarely allowed herself to do so, unlike Starfire who revelled in her emotions . Raven let out a little sigh and wrapped the null orb in a runed cloth she had stitched herself. She checked herself in the mirror, her eyes were a little red, but she could explain that away by claiming a a lack of sleep. Raven opened her door and saw Garth leaning against the opposite wall. He looked at her and in that moment Raven knew he had heard her outburst. The held each others gaze for a few moments until Garth broke the silence.

"Red Arrow's been playing nothing but William Hung for the past hour so we should go before we're accused of cruel and unusual punishment."

Raven resisted the urge to smile and instead nodded her head.

"Do you want to go at him as a team or individually?"

"I can handle it," Raven said with a curt nod.

Garth held her gaze for a moment then nodded his head and got up from the wall.

"Let's go greet our guest," he said as he placed his hand on the lower part of her back and guided her down the hallway.

* * *

Rorek glared at the two way mirror across from him, He was bound, gagged, drugged and his captors were somehow blocking his power. He was also ninety percent certain that his nose was broken.

"She bangs! She bangs!"

Rorek groaned into his disgusting gag, that was the third time in the past hour that particular "song" had played from the PA system and he was almost certain that he could hear maniacal cackling from the other room. Rorek rubbed his ears against his shoulder in a futile attempt to drown out the noise.

The door opened and the Demoness walked in with the Atlantean at her side. He had his hand place possessively on the small of her back. Now he knew who her favorite thrall was the other two thralls followed her into the interrogation room. The magician was muttering under his breath, "_yffilun, yfillun, yfillun,_" and the archer was grinning from ear to ear. Rorek had no doubt in his mind about who was responsible for the musical choice. The Atlantean pulled out a chair for the demoness who accepted it graciously while the Archer placed a clothed orb on the table.

"My name is Raven, this is Garth, prince and heir to the throne of the Idyllists, Red Arrow, and Zachary Zatara."

Rorek's eyes widened, before him stood a demoness powerful enough to enthrall Atlantean monarchy, a member of the legendary Zatara family and the protege of a member of the Justice league. He had not heard of anyone this powerful in many centuries.

"Before we get started with the interrogation we need to get a few things out of the way."

Raven reached out grabbed him by the nose and jerked it roughly to the side. Rorek's cry of pain was muffled by the gag, then he was momentarily blinded by a bright white light. When his eyes cleared Raven was sitting across from him with a distinctly bored look on her face. Rorek glared at her from his seat and started to struggle against his bonds in earnest.

"Did you want your nose to set crooked?"

Rorek's eyes widened and he realized that he could finally breathe comfortably through his nose. He also realized that Zachary was no longer nullifying his power he mentally called on his power and the room crackled with energy. Raven merely smiled serenely and removed the cloth from the orb.

"This is a null orb I confiscated from one of my uncle Beleth's worshipers. All magical abilities will be nullified. So lets get Beast Boy's dirty sock out of your mouth."

Rorek nearly gagged with the knowledge that he had another mans sock in his mouth, now he knew who to blame for that foul smell and taste. He was quite grateful to the Atlantean for removing the offensive object from his mouth.

"I see you have your thralls well under your heel."

Red Arrow scratched his temples and looked at Raven with a raised eyebrow.

"Thrall?"

"He thinks that I'm controlling you all with my evil demony powers."

"Evil demony powers?"

"Demons can use thralls or worshipers to do their will. Thralls are usually acquired through magical or sexual means, usually both." Garth said from behind Raven. Red Arrow let out a bark of laughter and leaned on Zachary.

"Is this guy for real?" he asked Zachary between laughs. Zachary shrugged his shoulders and flashed the room a mischievous grin. They both placed their hands in front of them like mock zombies.

"Ugh, mistress we are your mind slaves." Red Arrow said with a vacant look on his face.

"Urg, Mistress, allow me to kiss your demony toes." Zatara said as he limped toward Raven. Garth was coughing to cover up his laugh while the demoness turned from them, her shoulders shook with mirth. Zachary and Red Arrow laughed together at Rorek's perplexed expression. Raven turned toward Rorek and smiled serenely.

"I have no thralls, these are my friends," she said, motioning to the laughing men.

"Some of us would like to be friendlier than others." Red Arrow said with a grin as he elbowed Garth in the ribs. Garth scowled while Raven observed the dirt under her fingernails.

"Why should I believe you?" Rorek asked as he tried to ignore Zatara's laughter.

"If you won't believe us I can bring Dr. Fate in."

"Nabu?"

"He's aware of your presence here and trusts me to conduct this interrogation honestly. If you doubt this I can have him come here and he can conduct this interrogation instead."

"Why would he interrogate me?"

"Because you broke into Titans Tower, made your way into my room and stick around in my bathroom while I was in the shower like some perverted peeping-tom. Then you assaulted me and my friends."

"You assaulted me!"

"Need I remind you that I was naked when I discovered a strange man in my bathroom asking me about a book. If I had killed you it would have been justified. Throwing you out the window was a reflex any woman would have acted on."

"My cousin would have turned you into a pig." Zachary said from his corner

"Our Queen Mera would have fed him to the sharks."Garth added.

Rorek was baffled, they were making him out to be the villain, and with all the evidence laid out in front of him he was starting to believe that he owed Raven an apology. He searched for another accusation to throw at Raven.

"Well you released Malchior!"

"Yes, I released the dragon so he could eat the demon that was rampaging through the streets of Jump City. If you're worried about him and any nefarious plans he may have, he took a blood oath not to harm any innocents."

Rorek stared blankly at them.

"Oh."

Raven smiled and Garth leaned forward menacingly.

"Now that we have that out of the way, how did you get past Titans security system?"

* * *

Malchior watched two of his basilisks wrestle over the last of the bacon strips while he waited for his next appointment. Since he made his return known to the rest of the Deep Lands all manners of creatures had been coming to his home to voice to his complaints and struggles. He had spent the last six hours listening to issues ranging from noise complaints, property disputes and claims of corruption. Many unaddressed crimes were piling up on his desk with the victims mourning family demanding Dragon's Justice. Malchior let out a tired sigh, there was a distinct possibility that the next petitioner would be eaten, blood oath be damned. He heard a tapping noise at the window and looked up.

There on the window sill sat a patient phoenix who was in the prime of her life cycle. She ruffled her feathers and a few embers floated off her in the shape of feathers. Malchior motioned for his basilisks to open the window and allow the phoenix in. She floated down into the seat opposite of him and shifted into her human form. Her feathers formed into an elegant evening gown. Her hair was a fiery red with golden feathered earrings that matched her eyes and dangling down to her neck.

"Seraphine Embers, how kind of you to visit." Malchior said with a genuine smile.

Seraphine returned the smile. "Krona said that you were healing with a backlog of complaints, petitions, and unsolved crimes. I figured you might need some help."

"That the divines", Malchior said with a slightly exaggerated sigh. "I would have asked Krona but you know that her attention span isn't exactly the best for this sort of work. Can I interest you in some tea?"

"Yes, Please."

One of the basilisks flew over and poured tea for Seraphin in a delicate china with miniscule centaurs painted along the side.

"So tell me Seraphine, what have you been doing for the past Millennia?"

"I got married and had several children," she said with a coy smile.

"Truly, anyone I know?"

"Velasco the King of Crows."

Malchior raised an eyebrow "I find that hard to believe considering the fact that the last time I was here you had threatened to char his manhood."

"Love is surprising." She said with pensive smile. "Besides, you know I say that to all my soon-to-be lovers."

"Thank you for making me feel special." Malchior said with a wry smile as Seraphine laughed.

"Past romances aside, I did come here to offer my help. Velasco is willing to help with the unsolved crimes. You know crows, they see everything. A few halflings that I trust would be willing to help you with organizing your paperwork. Krona and her kin are willing to help with keeping the peace and enforcing the borders, Lucien and his wolves want to help but considering the natural enmity between the two clans I think it would be best to separate them by shifts and keep their contact with each other to a minimum."

"Have there been any recent conflicts between the two?" Malchior asked as he stroked one of his basilisks between the eyes.

"No, but inter clan relations are...frosty. To say the least."

"Thank you for organizing all of this Seraphine, It should help with the transition of power and the reforms that I am planning on implementing."

Seraphine rolled her eyes, "I take it that the Council of Elders is trying to make the transition of power difficult."

"Trying being the key word, frankly they remind me of chickens running around with their heads cut off. Are you running in the election?"

"Heavens no! Though I think my son Corbin is considering running, he's always had a talent for dealing with people and the masses. Something he inherited from his preening father."

Malchior chuckled. Seraphine had always suffered from stage fright and he knew that she never felt comfortable being the center of attention. Large crowds also put her on edge. This most likely stemmed from being caged and put on display by an egomaniacle king when she was a child.

"Will you be opening contact with the surface world once we've settled the issues here?"

"Of course, first I must visit the seelie and unseelie court and make sure Oberon recognizes our status as a politically independent entity. Then I have to go to the U.N. and petition those clucking hens for recognition as a sovereign nation. But before I handle any of them I have to introduce myself to the King of Atlantis since I have to swim in his waters."

"Of course," Seraphin said as she sipped her tea.

"Feathers!" Krona screamed in excitement as she burst into Malchior's study and threw her arms around Seraphine. Malchior leaned back in his chair and ignored Krona's and Seraphines endless babbling about children and grooming. He started to lazily smoke his pipe and create a wolf pack out of the smoke, while he watched the wolves play fight he ignored the not so subtle glare that Krona shot at him. He added a herd of deer in their wake and watched the wolves hunt. Krona stood over him with her arms crossed, and an adorable pout.

"Malchior, some privacy please!" Krona whined.

Malchior raised and eyebrow and looked at the pouting Krona while Seraphine smiled with barely contained laughter.

"I think I'll take a walk, there are several pastries available that are to your liking in the kitchen if you get hungry." Malchior bowed and walked out of his study leaving his two lifelong friends to chatter in private. Krona always was under the impression that she owned whatever room she entered and that everyone would acquiesce to her whims. If she were any less charismatic, charming, or beautiful, that particular delusion would have never come to pass.

Malchior saw Alex riding a basilisk in the form of a grizzly bear.

"Alex!" He called out.

Alex turned and rode the Bear closer to Malchior. "Yes sir?"

"Not every bear that you meet will give you a ride, in fact most of the bears in the forest would probably kill you if you tried to ride them."

"But he's not a bear, he's a balilisk," Alex answered in defense.

"Basilisk. They won't harm you, but few can tell the difference between the basilisks and the real thing. So make sure you only ride the animals that offer or pet the ones in my home."

"What about Elation?" Alex asked with a slightly hurt expression.

"Elation is a wise beast, but she is still wild. If she approaches you then she is willing to be pet. The servants have drawn up a bath for you. Go while the water is warm. There will also be new clothes for you."

Alex's nose crinkled, "The clothes here are funny."

"I'll go surface side for some modern clothes, until then make do with what you have. In the morning I'll be teaching you archery."

"AWESOME!" Alex and the bear rushed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Malchior smiled at their retreating figures and made his way to the garden , along the way he mused on thoughts of porcelain skin and amethyst eyes.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Well, my boyfriend's laptop broke down. I still have no internet at home or a working computer. So no more gaming. Lost my cousland save from dragon age, my renagon and paragon Shepherd save from mass effect, and my multiple Skyrim saves. Not to mention all my SIMS! Excuse me while I wallow in my unemployed self pity. Oh and if I want to use the computers at the library I have to pay off my fine and there is a 45 minute time limit, 1 use a day. FML. So this is basically why its taken so long for chapter twenty. I hope its long enough and I'm sorry that no major plot points have occurred. I promise Malchior and Raven will run into each other within the next two chapters. If it seems like Raven is a little OOC here I'm sorry but I wanted to explore how Raven would handle her powers being muted in a time when she is repressing powerful feelings. Raven isn't emotionless, she just has to be very careful with her emotions, especially since she is an empath and can affect the people around her and/or be affected by their feelings. I think that is there was a way for her to feel without her powers going haywire then she would probably become addicted to feeling all the emotions she was forced to bottle. But that's just my interpretation of the character, sorry if it doesn't coincide with your impression of the character._


	21. Thrones and Monkeys

**Authors Note: **_So I understand that I'm introducing a lot of characters that may be unknown to you. I read the TT comics, watch a lot of dc movies and read a lot on the comic-vine. I even wrote a 25 page article on the jewish influence in comic book medium and comic book reflection of american social, and political environment. So there may be a few references you don't understand or names that you don't know. I'm going to try and clear it up in the authors notes. On another note, my boyfriends laptop crapped out on me and I can't seem to find a job, so my updates will be fewer and farther apart. To use the computers at the library I have to reserve them in advance, only for 45 minutes, the internet is slow, I can only use it once a day, and I need to look for a job. I'm still writing, I'm just technologically starved. _

_**Nightwing:**__ Richard Grayson or Dick_

_**Red Hood:**__ Jason Todd (In my stories he's always going to be Red X.)_

_**Aqualad:**__ Garth, in the comic books when he leaves the moniker Aqualad behind he adopts the name __**Tempest**__. Garth is actually royalty and much like Aquaman his throne was taken from him in a complicated storyline that I really don't want to get into._

_**Red Arrow:**__ Speedy, later known as __**Arsenal**__. His real name is Roy Harper_

_**Kid Flash:**__ I may just have him take the name __**impulse**_

_**Beast Boy:**__ is kind of in between names. But Malchior will help him with that._

_**Cyborg:**__ Victor Stone_

_**Star Fire:**__ Koriand'r or Kori for short ( I probably massacred the spelling.)_

_**Zachary Zatara:**__ Is the cousin of Zatanna and a famous magician. He helps the Titans on the league in various issues but really doesn't get along with anyone but his stage assistant Bunny and his romantic interest Raven._

_**Zatanna:**__ In the original Teen Titans Raven approached the league for help in prevent her father's ascension but Zatanna was against helping her since she sensed Ravens demonic heritage and told the league not to trust her. Raven was forced to look for help with the Titans._

_**Dr. Fate:**__ the helmet changes hands but Dr. Fate doesn't_

_**Paper to Flesh**_

_**Chapter 21**_

_**Thrones and Monkeys**_

Garth stood outside Ravens door and waited for the water to stop running. It had been a long day and Raven was understandably trying to wash away the day with a long shower. During the interrogation they had found out that Rorek had fried the Titans security system with his magic which led to Red Arrow, Cyborg, and Bee spending most of the night rewiring Titans security. Shortly after the interrogation and Nightwing's mandatory ebriefing Raven locked herself in her room and no amount of waffles or tea could coax her out. Garth wasn't sure if she was using the null orb again or if she was just ignoring the world as usual.

He had volunteered to try to coax her out of her room for Game of Thrones night. One of the few nights that everyone in the team agreed on what to watch. Garth had been waiting for her to open the door for the past half an hour, but obviously Raven would have been content to just stay there for the rest of the night. It was a good thing that he as a master manipulator. Garth closed his eyes and concentrated on the water i the pipes. Raven was using all the hot water she could, considering the Towers upgrades she could conceivably stay in the tower for days. Garth smiled as he went to work and turned all of Ravens steaming hot water ice cold. He laughed when he heard her cry out in shock and leaned against the wall opposite her door with a satisfied smirk. A few moments later Raven stormed out of her room wearing nothing but a towel and a furious expression on her face.

"What the hell Garth?"

"Get dressed, it's Game of Thrones night."

Raven's jaw dropped and with good reason. Garth rarely commanded women to do anything, he was always a gentleman.

"Clothes, Now!" he said as he pointed at her.

"What makes you think I'll just do as I'm told?"

"Because you love Game of Thrones and you love your team, so you should love them together. Plus if you don't get dressed and down to the couch within the next ten minutes I will personally make sure that you never have another drop of warm water, not even for your tea."

Raven stared at him with wide-eyed shock while he resisted the urge to laugh. When a few seconds passed and she still had nothing to say he smiled and walked away.

"I'll save you a seat, better hurry." he called back to the still flabbergasted Raven.

AS Garth walked down the hall he heard Raven rush into her room and smiled. She was going to be mad at him when she came downstairs and joined the rest of the team for the night, mayne Cyborg could tell him how to make a peace offering to an angry demoness.

)O(

Raven rifled through her clothes for something suitable to wear. Garth was not bluffing, she remembered the last time his threat went unheeded Roy ended up being pantsed each and everytime he neared any body of water. This wouldn't have bothered him much if not for the fact that Garth managed to make the water ice cold, or so Roy claimed. She pulled on a pair of yoga shorts she didn't remember buying and her "winter is coming" t-shirt and went to the living room.

Garfield was serving himself nachos while Mas, Menos and Ki Flash were pouring meaty chili sauce on theirs. Roy was on the floor begging Zachary for his assistants number Bee and Victor cuddled comfortably together in their corner. Kori was sitting next to Richard with her arms crossed, a sure sign that they were in the middle of a fight and Garth sat in the center of the couch with a large jar of Nutella and two spoons. And obvious peace offering. Raven turned towards Victor and muttered under her breath.

"traitor"

Garth laughed and handed her a spoonful of Nutella as she took the seat next to him. Raven crossed her arms and popped the spoon in her mouth. She was 90% certain that she looked like a petulant child but she didn't care.

"By the way, I like your shorts."

Raven gave him a confused look and he blushed. "You don't know?"

Raven would have grilled him for more information but the show was starting and her mouth was full of chocolate gooeyness. Garth picked that moment to lean over and whisper in her ear.

"They say 'not an entrance' across the back."

Raven's eyes widened with horror, Jason had done it again. For the past year Jason Todd, Former robin, current Red Hood and occasional Red X would routinely break into the tower and slip the most ridiculous articles of clothing into her closet. this was evidently his latest addition. Garth was biting his lower lip with barely contained laughter. No one else seemed to have noticed, which was a blessing, but it presented another problem she was going to have to get up sooner or later. She could always teleport but that would only raise more questions and more visits to her room for "talks". As she sat there mulling over the pros and cons of teleporting away she felt a heavy cloth pulled over her had removed his hoodie and shoved her into it. She peeked out at him from under the hood, he winked and handed her another spoonful of went back to watching the show. Raven resisted the urge to smile by sucking on the spoon and watching the show.

)O(

Raven woke up the next morning to the sounds of someone banging against her door.

"Rae got up! Fate is releasing Rorek."

Raven grumbled and rolled onto her stomach in a beleaguered attempt to ignore the world. She was still sleeping off the extra greasy pepperoni, cheese and bacon pizza from last night. But Garfield just wouldn't grant him peace.

"Come on Rae, get up or I'll tell Cyborg that you offered to ref for our burping contest."

"I'm up!" Raven cried out in genuine fear. She off her pajamas and floated towards her dresser. She pulled out the t-shirt Mas y Menos had bought her for Dia de los Muertos, jeans and her army boots, then stumble out of the door.

"Ask Roy to ref."

"Already did he says he's leaving soon."

"Then go ask Kori, it may be an unknown Tamaranian tradition." she said as she pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail

"KAy, now hurry up! Fate says that he's sending Rorek to live with Etrigan for sensitivity training."

Raven smiled, that was something that she would pay to see.

)O(

Rorek looked around, the music had finally finished playing and he could hear someone at the door. He prayed to all the Divines, past and present, that he would not have to content with the archer or the mage. Those two seemed to take particular delight in his despair. Surprisingly the demoness and the Atlantean kept them in line, or atleast made attempts to remind their friends about the Geneva convention laws regarding the treatment of a prisoner.

Dr. Fate walked in and Rorek suddenly felt a relieved smile spread across his face. He got up and bowed.

"Nabu, it is a honor to finally make your acquaintance."

Nabu, stilled an tilted his head contemplatively.

"I wish that the same could be said for me, but since you saw fit to attach one of my associates I fear I cannot return the sentiment."

"Surely the great Nabu doesn't consort with demons."

"Raven is also half human, she has proven herself honorable and kind despite her father's attempts to corrupt her. There are many official and unofficial members of the justice league who have succeeded in overcoming their parentage. But enough about Raven, I am here to discuss your actions " Fate leaned in and glared at Rorek who leaned back and let out an audible gulp. He could hear Zachary and Red Arrow cackle behind the double sided mirror.

"You broke into Titans Tower and assaulted a Senior member. You also seem to have a certain prejudice against magical and extradimensional beings. Given that this is your first known offense and that you were once a hero of lore. The members of the League have decided that your punishment won't be severe. Instead of incarceration we have decided to send you to sensitivity training with the demon Etrigan. You will live a total of two months with him and fight alongside him during missions. Hopefully by the end of the two month period your attitude towards interdimensional races will improve."

"You can't be serious."

"Deathly serious, Furthermore you are prohibited from attacking Raven and Malchior without consent from the league or the magical community. We just received word that the King of Atlantis has formally recognized Malchior and his land as an independent nation, complete with a seat at the UN. So under no circumstances are you allowed to attack Malchior. The league and the UN will investigate the validity of his claim and whether or not his people are being abused in anyway." Dr. Fate looked down at Rorek and the chains that had been in place disintegrated. "You will report to Etrigan and you will treat him with the respect he deserves or I will place you in a pocket dimension for a century."

Rorek held himself from objecting and followed him out of the room without another word. They reached the entranceway of Titans Tower where the Titans East and West were gathered with varying degrees of contempt playing across their faces. Raven seemed to be the only one with a calm demeanor. A man that Rorek did not recognize was standing in front of the door so he assumed he was facing Etrigan's human form.

"Good evening, my name is Jason Blood. I am here to pick you up for your sensitivity training."

Rorek starred at Etrigans vessel and sighed.

"This wont be pleasant, will it?"

Blood chuckled good naturedly and shrugged his shoulders. "That would depend entirely on your attitude. Now come along, I have some artifacts I could use your help with. They are magical in nature and I could use your expertise."

Rorek perked up at the mention of magical artifacts and followed Etrigan to the vessel. He stopped midway to the ferry, turned and bowed towards Raven.

"I apologize for any trauma I may have caused you. I rushed to judgement when I should have taken the time to listen to you. I approached the situation poorly and I have slighted you. I am sorry." Rorek glanced up from his bowed position. There was a slight turn at the corner of her lips.

"I did toss you out a window, so I'm not as angry as I was yesterday. Thank you for the apology." Raven turned towards Blood and smiled. "Be gentle Blood."

"Yes your majesty." Blood said with a bow. Raven frowned. "How many times do I have to remind you to call me Raven?"

Blood smiled politely, "At least once more your grace."

"Still not what I asked for, but better" Raven muttered with a pout.

Blood bowed once more and guided Rorek to his boat. Once the boat took off Rorek turned towards Blood.

"Why did you refer to Raven as a royal?" Rorek asked curiously.

"Because she is the daughter of Trigon." Blood said as if he were commenting on the weather. Rorek's eyes widened and he turned back to look at the island.

"And the league trusts her?"

Blood looked down at him with a condescending expression on his face. "The sins of the father do not pass down to his children. Raven defeated her father and banished him to his dimension. She is royalty. If she went to hell she could claim ownership over Trigons realms since she defeated him in battle."

Rorek stared at Blood with a shocked expression and slapped him on the back.

"You're in for a big surprise if that's all it takes to make you speechless."

Rorek stared at the retreating T tower and wondered what other things he did not know.

)O(

Raven was watching Blood's boat disappear when she heard Bee call out her name.

"I'm sorry B, I wasn't listening, what did you say?"

"I was saying that you, me and Kori should go into town and have some fun today. I never get to have girl time in Steel City and lately I've felt like my life is too testosterone driven.

"Oh yes. Let us go to the mall of shopping and watch a chickflick and consume copiuos amounts of unhealthy snack food." Kori said with a pleading look that matched B's

Raven nodded her head. "Sure, let me go change. I've been meaning to buy a new tea mix and I know a great place to eat."

Kori squealed with delight as she flew up to her window to find a change of clothing.

Bee gave Raven a grateful look, "Thanks, I really need this, and I think it will be good for us to have some time away from the boys."

Raven smiled, "I couldn't agree more."

)O(

Malchior was sitting at this desk writing out a few new laws for his land when Krona walked in.

"I'm bored!" She said with a pout as she leaned over and looked at Malchior's work.

"Go play with your husband," Malchior said as he continued writing.

"He's on guard duty and says he's going to be too busy to play with me. So you have to."

Malchior spared her a glance, "I'm busy."

"Just do this on one of those _computers _you keep telling me about." She said as she chewed on the end of one of his quills.

"I find computers inelegant compared to my hand."

Krona let out an exasperated sigh. "It's not just me, Alex also needs to play. Why don't we go to the surface?"

Malchior looked out the window at Alex who was playing with Anora and a centaur foal that had wandered into his garden. They were playing a chasing game, it was nice to see Anora smiling and Alex playing with children his own age.

"He did ask for a change of clothes." Malchior said pensively. Krona let out a delighted squeal and grabbed one of his basilisks by the neck. She held the poor creature, who was currently in the form of a ferret, and shook it a few inches from Malchior's face.

"Tell it to send a message to Seraphine." She said and dropped the poor abused creature on his lap. Malchior was about to chide her for her treatment of his basilisk when the creature morphed into the form of an ocelot and launched itself at Krona's face. Krona rolled on the floor screaming, hissing and clawing at the poor beast. Malchior massaged his forehead and motioned for one of his basilisks to bring him tea. Krona finally managed to grab ahold of the basilisk and fling it out one of Malchior's stained glass windows.

"Krona, this is why I can't have nice things." Malchior said as he sipped his tea.

Krona flipped her hair out of her face and smiled "I won." she said victoriously.

The basilisk came back and sat in the windowsill in the form of a spider monkey. He screeched and hopped while he flashed Krona his middle finger. Krona crossed her arms.

"Don't be such a sore loser." She yelled at it.

The basilisk screeched louder and tossed his feces at her head.

"Malchior control your beast!" Krona said as she took cover behind his sofa. Malchior sighed and held up his hand, the basilisk came down from his perch and chattered in his ear about the injustice of it all.

"Krona, I'm afraid none of my little friends are willing to deliver your message. I trust you can deliver it yourself."

"FINE, I need a bath anyways." Krona said with as much dignity as she could muster.

Malchior chuckled and lit his pipe while his basilisk groomed his hair.

**Ugh, finally managed to find enough time at the library to type out this chapter. I already have 22 written out on my notebook, just need to type it. I'm just going to post this and send it to my beta, and when I can edit it I will. I just think I'm long overdue for an update. Sorry. try to review. This chapter is light, mostly because I like writing about characters during their downtime, when the world isn't ending. next chapter will be too, up until the end. Check out my tumblr ** ** and sorry again about the long gap. **

**review**

**fave**

**and have a merry christmas and a happy new year.**


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